Oh man ... if I could find my post from way back when around why having Honor Sales is bad for the game ... voila ...
It breeds unfounded expectation amongst the player base and feeds into the hoarding mentality ... which in turn means that a player sees little to no crew progression outside of one or two blips a year when they spend big and finally immortalise the Gary Seven (or other critical crew) they picked up ... so players end up sitting on mountains of Honor with a crew that is pretty much the same for 6-12 months (the time between Honor Sales) ... the only significant changes being mega-event crew and gift crew (e.g. Luau Paris) ... and on top of that players find the time to complain about those mega-event crew.
--> when players do not see progression in their crew it will breed irritation and anxiety until an Honor Sale because they are not seeing any improvements ... due to their own doing.
And then you have those who bumble along like me ... I cited up the Xindi Insectoid and Pollard 3 weeks before the January 2020 Honor Sale and then cited up Indulgent Seven 3 weeks prior to the August 2020 one ... go figure ... did I care? not really because I was super happy to get these crew working at full force for me ... I just spent 3 citations (150k Honor) on citing up Aviator year because of some silly Honor Pact thing ... and I'm glad I did and am waiting on a next Honor Pact candidate to roll out.
--> but the thing is, I'm seeing continual improvement to my crew ... I'm regularly immortalising crew that mean something to me or help me out, not just being drip-fed through mega-event crew that might be a disappointment for my roster (e.g. Suspiria, Humanoid Figure).
Am I throwing Honor out willy nilly? No ... I've set an Honor base for myself of around 150k (so I can buy a cite and one of the Honor Hall crew on a whim) but above that I'm willing to spend at any point during the year if that Honor goes towards something I care about ... be it good crew, collection crew, Honor Pact crew etc. ... I'm currently at 235k and am mulling over my options of where to invest next.
I could easily be well over 600k (not a lot by any standard, but a reasonable amount for a now non-spender) if I hadn't cited up Yar(3), Spock(1), Braxton(3) and Burnham(1) since the last Honor Sale ... but what is the fun in that?
I get where you’re coming from, because I believed in the continuous improvement method up until several months ago...when I realized I had no more glaring holes to patch. The only thing keeping me from success in events or the gauntlet is the time and effort I can put into them, and the only thing keeping me from nailing 10 hours on every single voyage is RNG for skill checks, ship trait matches, and seat trait matches.
Could I throw some citations on Sarah Sisko, Fury Kes, Humbled Archer, or other crew that would be highly valuable for raw power or specific trait/skill matches? Sure. But even so, the rate of return is low. An honor sale, with the beholds that come up, can help either add stars to those same crew, provide new crew to help fill the ever-shrinking holes in my roster, or yield some desperately-wanted collectible crew (Dark Empath Troi, Leucon, and Admiral Kirk come to mind).
As previous sales have taught us, you can never have too much honor banked for such a sale. While keeping them very exclusive and on a random schedule is certainly an idea to help reduce the urge to hoard, I would submit that these things would be far more effective at doing so:
-Have a regular schedule. Give us some certainty as to when we can expect a sale so we can make informed decisions about using honor for citations versus stockpiling for a sale. That feeling described above, where you just immortalized that Sinister Picard you got from a lucky behold, then realize you could have gotten him and five additional legendary crew by waiting a week...it’s not good.
-Instead of once or twice a year, increase the frequency to perhaps four times a year or even six times a year, sandwiched in the middle of non-mega event months. “But isn’t that so often that it would destroy the game economy?” Well...
-Have a purchase limit on the number of beholds that can be purchased. If we have a limit and know what it is, we can save up enough honor for the sales at that limit and then expend the remainder in a more consistent manner.
It would be way easier for them to strike “sale” part of it.
Just make legendary citations cost 40k honor at all times, and let them include the begold.
Delete begolds from the honor hall
Reduce price of super rare citations to 8k honor
Just eliminate the sale part. I mean just think it through. Even with that pricing being constant, it STILL wont be possible to keep up with immortalizing all legendaries as they are released without dropping serious cash.
Just open it up and take away the reason for hoarding. And never offer a “honor sale” again.
It would be way easier for them to strike “sale” part of it.
Just make legendary citations cost 40k honor at all times, and let them include the begold.
Delete begolds from the honor hall
Reduce price of super rare citations to 8k honor
Just eliminate the sale part. I mean just think it through. Even with that pricing being constant, it STILL wont be possible to keep up with immortalizing all legendaries as they are released without dropping serious cash.
Just open it up and take away the reason for hoarding. And never offer a “honor sale” again.
This would for sure be the best solution.
Wir, die Mirror Tribbles [MiT] haben freie Plätze zu vergeben. Kein Zwang und kein Stress, dafür aber Spaß, Discord und eine nette, hilfsbereite Gemeinschaft, incl. voll ausgebauter Starbase und täglich 700 ISM.
I was most disappointed by the fact that no new real content (ie: missions or distress calls) are on the horizon. It has become clear that TP has no plans to invest in this game to improve it for players unless there is a direct monetary benefit to them. Every recent addition/improvement/enhancement has been a money-making ploy disguised as a benefit to players... DB had its issues, but at least I felt like they cared about the players and saw us as more than dollar signs.
I want them to be able to develop content and monetise it, that's what will keep the game going. What I don't want is aggressively monetised content that nickles and dimes you at every turn. I do think that they should create some new Distress Calls that require really, really high stats to do, maybe even distress calls that are not doable or critable when they are released. That might drive demand for new crew.
And to be honest the thing that disappointed me was the reply to the possibility of different ending times for the gauntlet. I do realize that it would be somewhat complicated to implement, but the reasoning that it would take longer to get people to join one didn't really make sense to me. It's not like now we're staying up until 2 am to join with everyone else anyway. It seems to me like they're not even considering the issue, which might be because it doesn't affect all players.
Yeah, that disappointed me as well. It is an entrenched disadvantage for those in different timezones, and there seems to be no real consideration of possibilities to address it.
I do think that they should create some new Distress Calls that require really, really high stats to do, maybe even distress calls that are not doable or critable when they are released. That might drive demand for new crew.
Well I generally agree with you, but if there are missions that cannot be done with existing crew and maxed bonuses there are going to be a lot of torches and pitchforks.
But I think that is actually great idea because it can give a lot of older players new targets to reach.
I do think that they should create some new Distress Calls that require really, really high stats to do, maybe even distress calls that are not doable or critable when they are released. That might drive demand for new crew.
Well I generally agree with you, but if there are missions that cannot be done with existing crew and maxed bonuses there are going to be a lot of torches and pitchforks.
But I think that is actually great idea because it can give a lot of older players new targets to reach.
Sure, and sometimes you have to do things for the good of the game and take the pitchforks on the chin.
But @Prime Lorca [10F] we have heard of changes coming for months - and years. And the only latest change we have truly had was the event button that was actually not needed.
They just had an employee spend an hour talk about all the upcoming changes in the next ~1.5 months. Including new things happening for the rest of convergence day. Why don't we wait to see those changes before breaking out the pitchforks.
Because, if we are being brutally honest, nothing is ever going to please these types of people. Short of literally giving them everything they want/demand.
I don't think I've ever seen even a single comment from this person in particular that wasn't negative.
I don't think anything will satisfy her tbh.
Disappointed in a lack of an honour sale? Sure, but it just means I'll keep saving it up until there is another sale (and reap even more rewards then).
I don't quite understand leaving the game simply because their isn't an honour sale. Sounds like they've already got one foot out the door and were looking for an excuse. I can understand things feeling stale, but then maybe one should step back a bit and lower their expectations a tad. There's also nothing stopping anyone from simply putting the game down a little while and coming back to hunt all the crew they missed out on while they were away.
I love this perspective. Is it disappointing that there isn't going to be an honour sale for a bit? No question, yes. Is it the end of the world? No.
I personally have about 550K burning a hole in my pocket, that I'd like to use. And I could, but I choose not to, for the sake of long-term benefits. Everyone also has the same choice. No one is holding a gun to their head, making them wait. Let alone forcing them to quit.
You hit the nail on the head. I agree that for some, they are already leaning towards leaving, and are just looking for an excuse.
Oh man ... if I could find my post from way back when around why having Honor Sales is bad for the game ... voila ...
It breeds unfounded expectation amongst the player base and feeds into the hoarding mentality ...
--> when players do not see progression in their crew it will breed irritation and anxiety until an Honor Sale because they are not seeing any improvements ... due to their own doing.
BINGO!
The honour sale was supposed to be a bonus. I don't see any difference between it and any other semi-annual or annual sale, like a Black Friday. You summed up the issue quite well. Maybe the solution is a combination of people having more realistic expectations and rethinking the choices to hold onto honour that they are making.
As previous sales have taught us, you can never have too much honor banked for such a sale. While keeping them very exclusive and on a random schedule is certainly an idea to help reduce the urge to hoard, I would submit that these things would be far more effective at doing so:
-Have a regular schedule. Give us some certainty as to when we can expect a sale so we can make informed decisions about using honor for citations versus stockpiling for a sale. That feeling described above, where you just immortalized that Sinister Picard you got from a lucky behold, then realize you could have gotten him and five additional legendary crew by waiting a week...it’s not good.
-Instead of once or twice a year, increase the frequency to perhaps four times a year or even six times a year, sandwiched in the middle of non-mega event months. “But isn’t that so often that it would destroy the game economy?” Well...
-Have a purchase limit on the number of beholds that can be purchased. If we have a limit and know what it is, we can save up enough honor for the sales at that limit and then expend the remainder in a more consistent manner.
All valid, and IMO, great suggestions. I think these would address a lot of the complaints regarding the current honour dilemma most players face.
In the end, we all have choices that we each need to make, based on what makes us happy.
Want to improve/increase your crew now? Use your honour now. Want more bang for your buck?
Hold onto your honour until a sale, no matter how long it takes or how often one happens.
This doesn't only apply to the topic of honour, but all facets of the game. A lot of the misery people have is self-inflicted. It is a simple choice to make a change if you aren't happy. Do something different, be it in how you play, how often you play or if you play at all. If that means taking a break or leaving entirely, maybe that's the best option for a portion of the player base.
Or continue being miserable. Again, that is also a choice.
But @Prime Lorca [10F] we have heard of changes coming for months - and years. And the only latest change we have truly had was the event button that was actually not needed.
They just had an employee spend an hour talk about all the upcoming changes in the next ~1.5 months. Including new things happening for the rest of convergence day. Why don't we wait to see those changes before breaking out the pitchforks.
Because, if we are being brutally honest, nothing is ever going to please these types of people. Short of literally giving them everything they want/demand.
I don't think I've ever seen even a single comment from this person in particular that wasn't negative.
I don't think anything will satisfy her tbh.
I was where you are at 3 and 4 years ago, always standing up for the game - and DB, which I used to call Uncle DB. And all of this during the huge DB:Do Better time when so many were upset at DB for basically the same things that TP is doing. So once you have been in the game for as long as many of us have been, you will probably also feel the same way we do.
It is strange.... on this very forum someone, and I forget who, said the exact same thing to me that I am saying to you. And I shrugged it off and told them that I loved the game and that Uncle DB was doing great things. I guess I was naive back then.
But @Prime Lorca [10F] we have heard of changes coming for months - and years. And the only latest change we have truly had was the event button that was actually not needed.
They just had an employee spend an hour talk about all the upcoming changes in the next ~1.5 months. Including new things happening for the rest of convergence day. Why don't we wait to see those changes before breaking out the pitchforks.
Because, if we are being brutally honest, nothing is ever going to please these types of people. Short of literally giving them everything they want/demand.
I don't think I've ever seen even a single comment from this person in particular that wasn't negative.
I don't think anything will satisfy her tbh.
I was where you are at 3 and 4 years ago, always standing up for the game - and DB, which I used to call Uncle DB. And all of this during the huge DB:Do Better time when so many were upset at DB for basically the same things that TP is doing. So once you have been in the game for as long as many of us have been, you will probably also feel the same way we do.
It is strange.... on this very forum someone, and I forget who, said the exact same thing to me that I am saying to you. And I shrugged it off and told them that I loved the game and that Uncle DB was doing great things. I guess I was naive back then.
I get what you are saying Trista. I think part of it is fatigue from playing the same game for so long. I was feeling a lot of fatigue a few months back and I got back my joy by watching the new trek shows and by changing my game goals and setting new ones.
Another issue can be the more of something you get the less satisfying it is. A crew person with cool art is awesome the first few times. Then to get the same high it has to be a crew person you like. Then it has to be someone you like but with great stats. I wanted Kevin Uxbridge for a long time and we got him and I was so excited but then his stats were not great so I was a bit bummed.
But @Prime Lorca [10F] we have heard of changes coming for months - and years. And the only latest change we have truly had was the event button that was actually not needed.
They just had an employee spend an hour talk about all the upcoming changes in the next ~1.5 months. Including new things happening for the rest of convergence day. Why don't we wait to see those changes before breaking out the pitchforks.
Because, if we are being brutally honest, nothing is ever going to please these types of people. Short of literally giving them everything they want/demand.
I don't think I've ever seen even a single comment from this person in particular that wasn't negative.
I don't think anything will satisfy her tbh.
I was where you are at 3 and 4 years ago, always standing up for the game - and DB, which I used to call Uncle DB. And all of this during the huge DB:Do Better time when so many were upset at DB for basically the same things that TP is doing. So once you have been in the game for as long as many of us have been, you will probably also feel the same way we do.
It is strange.... on this very forum someone, and I forget who, said the exact same thing to me that I am saying to you. And I shrugged it off and told them that I loved the game and that Uncle DB was doing great things. I guess I was naive back then.
With all due respect, I'd rather be naive than negative.
As I said in the message you responded to, maybe a break from the game is in order if you feel this way. Or, with regards to how you currently play, change things up somehow.
There's no sense in continuing as is, if you are that unhappy.
I'd also maybe try @(HGH)Apollo's approach. Take something you enjoy from current Trek, and focus on that. That could be part of setting new goals/changing how you currently play.
I wish you well, regardless of what choice you make.
I haven't been around nearly as long as a lot of you, but I am not naive. I won't blindly defend them, but I won't demand perfection either. That would be an impossible standard for anyone. I can't do it and I won't expect it of others. I will tolerate honest mistakes, so long as they are rectified in some way and learned from.
Mixing up files and miscalculations are understandable to a certain degree. Holiday hours, unusual working conditions, and who knows what else make for a perfect storm. I once managed to set myself on fire at church through a combination of choices that seemed right at the time and bad luck. Things happen. Accidents, honest mistakes, and bad luck can be forgiven and I'm happy to do so.
I, however, have a zero tolerance policy on stupid. Unrepentant idiocy drives me to rage that makes a Vulcan on trellium downright cuddly. Comment moderated. ~Shan
They made a mistake with Adira and they came up with a pretty reasonable remedy on an understandable timetable, considering how they chose to implement it. I will let that go. I have no doubt that crew variants have similar file names. I code. I have uploaded the same file twice because the names are similar. It happens.
I'm curious just what data they looked at when calculating the thresholds, but bad numbers or a bad formula can make a mess of things and math is not most people's strong suits and it happened over a holiday when there was less oversight.
On the subject of the honor sale
-Yes, I was hoping for one, as I do have a bit of a stash, but I'm low on slots. Even with about ten open normally, that isn't enough if I need to pull many crew from the vault. This means while I want a sale, I would prefer it a bit later. I'll have more honor and more room. This means I was neutral on the idea.
-Someone pointed out they rarely repeat themselves on CD, so an honor sale wasn't very likely. I wasn't even really expecting it, in truth.
-With the recent news update, I think the delay is strategic. We were told to horde packs for this new feature. Lots of people burn theirs up during an honor sale for fuel. Telling people to save them and then doing something that encourages them to burn up whatever they have saved since the portal update would be a bit stupid. They could have had a sale and then they would have people ticked about not being warned. They held off a sale and gave us a heads up. Depending on this feature, it may be well worth it. There are a LOT of pieces in play. I will hold off until I see more moves play out. This is chess, not checkers.
With these considerations, I will reserve judgement.
W.W. CarlislePlayed since January 20, 2019Captain Level- 99 (May 9, 2022)VIP 14Crew Quarters: 485/485Most recent/Lowest- Anbo-jyutsu Kyle Riker (1/5* Lvl 30) 5/29/23Immortalized x-866 5* x184, 4* x 490, 3* x91, 2* x62, and 1* x27Most recent Immortal - Tearful Janeway 4* 5/25/23Current non-event project- Improving my Science base skill. Retrieval Project- Mestral 1/5*
With all due respect, I'd rather be naive than negative.
As I said in the message you responded to, maybe a break from the game is in order if you feel this way. Or, with regards to how you currently play, change things up somehow.
There's no sense in continuing as is, if you are that unhappy.
I'd also maybe try @(HGH)Apollo's approach. Take something you enjoy from current Trek, and focus on that. That could be part of setting new goals/changing how you currently play.
I wish you well, regardless of what choice you make.
🖖
Thank you for your concern, I do appreciate it but I think I will do what I want to do.
Personally i feel like a lot of the other posts, this on top of everything else from no Christmas recognition yet the staff take a holiday and still decide to put on a time heavy event over christmas, to changing event reward, this just feels like another disappointment.
Listening to some of the stream, i honestly wonder what TP does, everything from mini events, to new locations, to a new distress call is on the back burner and no immediate hope of happening.
All we have had is a very annoying event button, that just duplicated what we already had.
And going off topic then there is the suspiciously high top 10 ever week, which doesn't appear to be ever mentioned anymore.
So yes I'm disappointed, I'm just grinding out this game at lvl 99, picking events that motivate me and for someone like me who rarely buys packs the honour portal is important to me and this just feels like another let down.
Yes, there are a bunch of things on the back burner - but we've also been told there's a major feature coming in February, and we'll get a sneak peek today.
Six degrees in Inter-species Veterinary Medicine. Treating all manner of critters, from Tribbles to Humans.
Yes, there are a bunch of things on the back burner - but we've also been told there's a major feature coming in February, and we'll get a sneak peek today.
There won’t be a sneak peak until Ben goes on timelines talks later this month or early next month.
The announcement today has to do with a “big change” which has been hinted at having to do with premium portal packs.
Yes, there are a bunch of things on the back burner - but we've also been told there's a major feature coming in February, and we'll get a sneak peek today.
But it still doesn't answer what they're actually doing, other games have several updates a year adding new features, we get a button.
I need motivation and the thought of the honor sale motivated me.
Even this event is nothing special, its just another boring event with a story arc spanning two events, that no one cares about.
My ideal Christmas/anniversary period would have been a give away at Christmas followed by the honor sale then this 2 part event could have provided a way to win a 5 star in the thresholds.
These new changes really need to be big to leave me not underwhelmed.
Yes, there are a bunch of things on the back burner - but we've also been told there's a major feature coming in February, and we'll get a sneak peek today.
But it still doesn't answer what they're actually doing, other games have several updates a year adding new features, we get a button.
I need motivation and the thought of the honor sale motivated me.
Even this event is nothing special, its just another boring event with a story arc spanning two events, that no one cares about.
My ideal Christmas/anniversary period would have been a give away at Christmas followed by the honor sale then this 2 part event could have provided a way to win a 5 star in the thresholds.
These new changes really need to be big to leave me not underwhelmed.
Ben said there are further additions (or something) to the new feature planned for later this year. Hopefully they can deliver and be more in line with your expectations.
I saw a few people discussing the story in the event thread. Some folks care.
I saw a few people discussing the story in the event thread. Some folks care.
In the past people often said that story over action separated Star Trek from Star Wars. Well, times have changed. And although I personally found the third season of Discovery the best so far it is a "child of the times". Much brainless action in the finale and further winks to Star Wars with the droids for example.
That aside: The focus of DB when they started was on story-driven games (the new company with many old employees continues that path which is fine). And although I always found the temporal anomaly to be a mere device to explain how all these people from so many different timelines can come together for STT it is a vital part of this game still.
The current arc touches this and Convergence Day + usually the stories are solidly written. So I care about that 2. Especially since I always referred to STT as an interactive storybook (and before the new series a nostalgic trip) anyway...
@JeanLucKirk If we’re making the franchise comparison, then i’d say watching Disco season three and season two of The Mandalorian at the same time wasn’t a good idea- Mando is probably my favorite show right now and not that I don’t like Disco, but oh well you know...
“What's a knockout like you doing in a computer-generated gin joint like this?”
Proud member of Patterns of Force
Captain Level 99
Played since January 2017
If we have an honor sale...great. If not, hopefully we receive one in the future. Either way, life will go on.
“A committee is a cul-de-sac, down which good ideas are lured and quietly strangled.” —Mark TwainMEMBER: [BoB] Barrel of Bloodwine... We are recruiting and putting the “curv” in scurvy! Best Event Finish: #3 Honor Debt: Inconceivable...Honor Bank Account: Slowly building...
The current arc touches this and Convergence Day + usually the stories are solidly written. So I care about that 2. Especially since I always referred to STT as an interactive storybook (and before the new series a nostalgic trip) anyway...
I do apologise for saying no one cares about the stories but i Still feel if you are going to have a special 2 part event couldn't TP have made it special.
I know we have received Paris and will soon get Adira free but this event could have been made more entertaining, if not a 5 star in the threshold maybe another 4 star to make this event different to normal.
I'm disappointed about the honor sale but its more about the lack of developments or just freshness to the game, just by tweaking an event it feels different and getting my hopes up only to find a minor premium pack change that would have normally been added to an update with no fanfare, hasnt helped my recent underwhelmed feeling.
We've all been there. You play long enough and you start to get a strong enough roster that you start investing Honor in your cards to make them better, only to deplete your Honor reserves to get caught without any for a surprise Honor Sale, and you feel like a chump. Once you fall victim to that one time, you will never do it again, as those Honor Sale deals are so much better than a standard deal most players will never spend Honor any other time.
So we stockpile Honor and wait for Honor Sales...that are never advertised, pre-scheduled, announced, they just drop out of no where and you have to be ready for them. You will play for months with obvious holes in your roster that you could fix, but you don't because the smart play is to wait. You spend hours over the course of months compiling lists of cards to upgrade while you wait for the Honor Sale. After a point, saving up for and then going nuts during Honors Sales essentially becomes the game after a while.
Personally, this feels like cancelling a holiday, it is thoroughly disappointing and I am not really sure how it can be spun any other way.
This scenario is what happened to me as well ... the first round i had just spent the meager honor i had citing up a good crewman i had just gotten previous, which was hard because i did not have as much honor income at the time, so that xmas special went by as a dud for me at the time..
The next time i really had the feeling of being screwed over, because the unanounced honor sale was in january and i had just spent 450k honor citing crew up because my belief (and the consensus) was that if any honor sale would have been done, it would have been during celebratory period, and not halfway during january.
Thus i commited myself to hoarding honor as well .. to not get caught with my pants down anymore ... not be the dumb one to fall for this a 3rd time ... and only using the campaign cites ..
And yes ,.... having a roster that will make 10+ hours according to the calculations ( even tho it is still possible for a 1044 voyage to die at 944 apparently) .. i currently have no hard need to spend honor in continuous improvement but am able to join the ranks of Honor-Hoarders awaiting the next honor sale, or revamp of the honor pricing to better numbers ... and get those more in line with the number of cards we have in game which we would potentiall spend it on ... 366 Rare vs 442 Gold .. ( does this ratio still seems quite off to me personally )
It would be way easier for them to strike “sale” part of it.
Just make legendary citations cost 40k honor at all times, and let them include the begold.
Delete begolds from the honor hall
Reduce price of super rare citations to 8k honor
Just eliminate the sale part. I mean just think it through. Even with that pricing being constant, it STILL wont be possible to keep up with immortalizing all legendaries as they are released without dropping serious cash.
Just open it up and take away the reason for hoarding. And never offer a “honor sale” again.
This would for sure be the best solution.
If only??? Oh... wait, didnt we suggest this like 2 years ago?
Many of the long time players like @Princess Trista and myself are becoming negative tone in terms of growth and changes because we have been asking for some serious glitch fixes, suggesting exciting things or the same ideas for 4 years now. We end up with a funky event screen that is more clicking, and duplicates past event stats that already exist in SB, or an “active buffs” feature that is not useful in comparison to fixing things that have been broken for 3-4 years.
They (DB/TP/WRG) have created some great stuff in the game from the beginning. Lots of things to do, and keep us returning. But for every great new thing there seems 2 set-backs or disappointing additions that nobody wanted or asked for, and the majority of long term players see it as wasted time spent programming when we could be getting long term glitch fixes.
Many of us around the 5 year length of playing have seen STT grow from infancy to what it is now. We are still here. Not just to complain but because we love the game, we love trek, we love our fleet families. To suggest playing a different game is to suggest that TP/RNG should lose customers. Lately it would appear that the game changes taking place are geared toward new or mid lvl players, nothing for loyal players who have been here since the inception.
As everyone points out, this is a business. Those of us who have been here for that long are loyal consumers also. Sometimes we may get upset when our voices go un-heard.
Balancing new/mid/long term players is key at this point in keeping all players. This is a hard thing to do in business. But loyalty programs and suggestion boxes exist at every store.
Comments
I get where you’re coming from, because I believed in the continuous improvement method up until several months ago...when I realized I had no more glaring holes to patch. The only thing keeping me from success in events or the gauntlet is the time and effort I can put into them, and the only thing keeping me from nailing 10 hours on every single voyage is RNG for skill checks, ship trait matches, and seat trait matches.
Could I throw some citations on Sarah Sisko, Fury Kes, Humbled Archer, or other crew that would be highly valuable for raw power or specific trait/skill matches? Sure. But even so, the rate of return is low. An honor sale, with the beholds that come up, can help either add stars to those same crew, provide new crew to help fill the ever-shrinking holes in my roster, or yield some desperately-wanted collectible crew (Dark Empath Troi, Leucon, and Admiral Kirk come to mind).
As previous sales have taught us, you can never have too much honor banked for such a sale. While keeping them very exclusive and on a random schedule is certainly an idea to help reduce the urge to hoard, I would submit that these things would be far more effective at doing so:
-Have a regular schedule. Give us some certainty as to when we can expect a sale so we can make informed decisions about using honor for citations versus stockpiling for a sale. That feeling described above, where you just immortalized that Sinister Picard you got from a lucky behold, then realize you could have gotten him and five additional legendary crew by waiting a week...it’s not good.
-Instead of once or twice a year, increase the frequency to perhaps four times a year or even six times a year, sandwiched in the middle of non-mega event months. “But isn’t that so often that it would destroy the game economy?” Well...
-Have a purchase limit on the number of beholds that can be purchased. If we have a limit and know what it is, we can save up enough honor for the sales at that limit and then expend the remainder in a more consistent manner.
Just make legendary citations cost 40k honor at all times, and let them include the begold.
Delete begolds from the honor hall
Reduce price of super rare citations to 8k honor
Just eliminate the sale part. I mean just think it through. Even with that pricing being constant, it STILL wont be possible to keep up with immortalizing all legendaries as they are released without dropping serious cash.
Just open it up and take away the reason for hoarding. And never offer a “honor sale” again.
This would for sure be the best solution.
I want them to be able to develop content and monetise it, that's what will keep the game going. What I don't want is aggressively monetised content that nickles and dimes you at every turn. I do think that they should create some new Distress Calls that require really, really high stats to do, maybe even distress calls that are not doable or critable when they are released. That might drive demand for new crew.
Yeah, that disappointed me as well. It is an entrenched disadvantage for those in different timezones, and there seems to be no real consideration of possibilities to address it.
Well I generally agree with you, but if there are missions that cannot be done with existing crew and maxed bonuses there are going to be a lot of torches and pitchforks.
But I think that is actually great idea because it can give a lot of older players new targets to reach.
Sure, and sometimes you have to do things for the good of the game and take the pitchforks on the chin.
Because, if we are being brutally honest, nothing is ever going to please these types of people. Short of literally giving them everything they want/demand.
I don't think I've ever seen even a single comment from this person in particular that wasn't negative.
I don't think anything will satisfy her tbh.
I love this perspective. Is it disappointing that there isn't going to be an honour sale for a bit? No question, yes. Is it the end of the world? No.
I personally have about 550K burning a hole in my pocket, that I'd like to use. And I could, but I choose not to, for the sake of long-term benefits. Everyone also has the same choice. No one is holding a gun to their head, making them wait. Let alone forcing them to quit.
You hit the nail on the head. I agree that for some, they are already leaning towards leaving, and are just looking for an excuse.
BINGO!
The honour sale was supposed to be a bonus. I don't see any difference between it and any other semi-annual or annual sale, like a Black Friday. You summed up the issue quite well. Maybe the solution is a combination of people having more realistic expectations and rethinking the choices to hold onto honour that they are making.
All valid, and IMO, great suggestions. I think these would address a lot of the complaints regarding the current honour dilemma most players face.
In the end, we all have choices that we each need to make, based on what makes us happy.
Want to improve/increase your crew now? Use your honour now. Want more bang for your buck?
Hold onto your honour until a sale, no matter how long it takes or how often one happens.
This doesn't only apply to the topic of honour, but all facets of the game. A lot of the misery people have is self-inflicted. It is a simple choice to make a change if you aren't happy. Do something different, be it in how you play, how often you play or if you play at all. If that means taking a break or leaving entirely, maybe that's the best option for a portion of the player base.
Or continue being miserable. Again, that is also a choice.
I was where you are at 3 and 4 years ago, always standing up for the game - and DB, which I used to call Uncle DB. And all of this during the huge DB:Do Better time when so many were upset at DB for basically the same things that TP is doing. So once you have been in the game for as long as many of us have been, you will probably also feel the same way we do.
It is strange.... on this very forum someone, and I forget who, said the exact same thing to me that I am saying to you. And I shrugged it off and told them that I loved the game and that Uncle DB was doing great things. I guess I was naive back then.
I get what you are saying Trista. I think part of it is fatigue from playing the same game for so long. I was feeling a lot of fatigue a few months back and I got back my joy by watching the new trek shows and by changing my game goals and setting new ones.
Another issue can be the more of something you get the less satisfying it is. A crew person with cool art is awesome the first few times. Then to get the same high it has to be a crew person you like. Then it has to be someone you like but with great stats. I wanted Kevin Uxbridge for a long time and we got him and I was so excited but then his stats were not great so I was a bit bummed.
With all due respect, I'd rather be naive than negative.
As I said in the message you responded to, maybe a break from the game is in order if you feel this way. Or, with regards to how you currently play, change things up somehow.
There's no sense in continuing as is, if you are that unhappy.
I'd also maybe try @(HGH)Apollo's approach. Take something you enjoy from current Trek, and focus on that. That could be part of setting new goals/changing how you currently play.
I wish you well, regardless of what choice you make.
🖖
Mixing up files and miscalculations are understandable to a certain degree. Holiday hours, unusual working conditions, and who knows what else make for a perfect storm. I once managed to set myself on fire at church through a combination of choices that seemed right at the time and bad luck. Things happen. Accidents, honest mistakes, and bad luck can be forgiven and I'm happy to do so.
I, however, have a zero tolerance policy on stupid. Unrepentant idiocy drives me to rage that makes a Vulcan on trellium downright cuddly. Comment moderated. ~Shan
They made a mistake with Adira and they came up with a pretty reasonable remedy on an understandable timetable, considering how they chose to implement it. I will let that go. I have no doubt that crew variants have similar file names. I code. I have uploaded the same file twice because the names are similar. It happens.
I'm curious just what data they looked at when calculating the thresholds, but bad numbers or a bad formula can make a mess of things and math is not most people's strong suits and it happened over a holiday when there was less oversight.
On the subject of the honor sale
-Yes, I was hoping for one, as I do have a bit of a stash, but I'm low on slots. Even with about ten open normally, that isn't enough if I need to pull many crew from the vault. This means while I want a sale, I would prefer it a bit later. I'll have more honor and more room. This means I was neutral on the idea.
-Someone pointed out they rarely repeat themselves on CD, so an honor sale wasn't very likely. I wasn't even really expecting it, in truth.
-With the recent news update, I think the delay is strategic. We were told to horde packs for this new feature. Lots of people burn theirs up during an honor sale for fuel. Telling people to save them and then doing something that encourages them to burn up whatever they have saved since the portal update would be a bit stupid. They could have had a sale and then they would have people ticked about not being warned. They held off a sale and gave us a heads up. Depending on this feature, it may be well worth it. There are a LOT of pieces in play. I will hold off until I see more moves play out. This is chess, not checkers.
With these considerations, I will reserve judgement.
Listening to some of the stream, i honestly wonder what TP does, everything from mini events, to new locations, to a new distress call is on the back burner and no immediate hope of happening.
All we have had is a very annoying event button, that just duplicated what we already had.
And going off topic then there is the suspiciously high top 10 ever week, which doesn't appear to be ever mentioned anymore.
So yes I'm disappointed, I'm just grinding out this game at lvl 99, picking events that motivate me and for someone like me who rarely buys packs the honour portal is important to me and this just feels like another let down.
Starport
There won’t be a sneak peak until Ben goes on timelines talks later this month or early next month.
The announcement today has to do with a “big change” which has been hinted at having to do with premium portal packs.
But it still doesn't answer what they're actually doing, other games have several updates a year adding new features, we get a button.
I need motivation and the thought of the honor sale motivated me.
Even this event is nothing special, its just another boring event with a story arc spanning two events, that no one cares about.
My ideal Christmas/anniversary period would have been a give away at Christmas followed by the honor sale then this 2 part event could have provided a way to win a 5 star in the thresholds.
These new changes really need to be big to leave me not underwhelmed.
Ben said there are further additions (or something) to the new feature planned for later this year. Hopefully they can deliver and be more in line with your expectations.
I saw a few people discussing the story in the event thread. Some folks care.
In the past people often said that story over action separated Star Trek from Star Wars. Well, times have changed. And although I personally found the third season of Discovery the best so far it is a "child of the times". Much brainless action in the finale and further winks to Star Wars with the droids for example.
That aside: The focus of DB when they started was on story-driven games (the new company with many old employees continues that path which is fine). And although I always found the temporal anomaly to be a mere device to explain how all these people from so many different timelines can come together for STT it is a vital part of this game still.
The current arc touches this and Convergence Day + usually the stories are solidly written. So I care about that 2. Especially since I always referred to STT as an interactive storybook (and before the new series a nostalgic trip) anyway...
Proud member of Patterns of Force
Captain Level 99
Played since January 2017
TP: Do better!!!
I’m not saying it wasn’t, i’m just saying I liked Mando a little bit better
Proud member of Patterns of Force
Captain Level 99
Played since January 2017
TP: Do better!!!
Cool. Still have to see Mandalorian season 2. I hated the way season 1 ended so been reticent to start season 2.
Hehe, cannot say anything about The Mandalorian, but heard good things about it
I know we have received Paris and will soon get Adira free but this event could have been made more entertaining, if not a 5 star in the threshold maybe another 4 star to make this event different to normal.
I'm disappointed about the honor sale but its more about the lack of developments or just freshness to the game, just by tweaking an event it feels different and getting my hopes up only to find a minor premium pack change that would have normally been added to an update with no fanfare, hasnt helped my recent underwhelmed feeling.
This scenario is what happened to me as well ... the first round i had just spent the meager honor i had citing up a good crewman i had just gotten previous, which was hard because i did not have as much honor income at the time, so that xmas special went by as a dud for me at the time..
The next time i really had the feeling of being screwed over, because the unanounced honor sale was in january and i had just spent 450k honor citing crew up because my belief (and the consensus) was that if any honor sale would have been done, it would have been during celebratory period, and not halfway during january.
Thus i commited myself to hoarding honor as well .. to not get caught with my pants down anymore ... not be the dumb one to fall for this a 3rd time ... and only using the campaign cites ..
And yes ,.... having a roster that will make 10+ hours according to the calculations ( even tho it is still possible for a 1044 voyage to die at 944 apparently) .. i currently have no hard need to spend honor in continuous improvement but am able to join the ranks of Honor-Hoarders awaiting the next honor sale, or revamp of the honor pricing to better numbers ... and get those more in line with the number of cards we have in game which we would potentiall spend it on ... 366 Rare vs 442 Gold .. ( does this ratio still seems quite off to me personally )
If only??? Oh... wait, didnt we suggest this like 2 years ago?
Many of the long time players like @Princess Trista and myself are becoming negative tone in terms of growth and changes because we have been asking for some serious glitch fixes, suggesting exciting things or the same ideas for 4 years now. We end up with a funky event screen that is more clicking, and duplicates past event stats that already exist in SB, or an “active buffs” feature that is not useful in comparison to fixing things that have been broken for 3-4 years.
They (DB/TP/WRG) have created some great stuff in the game from the beginning. Lots of things to do, and keep us returning. But for every great new thing there seems 2 set-backs or disappointing additions that nobody wanted or asked for, and the majority of long term players see it as wasted time spent programming when we could be getting long term glitch fixes.
Many of us around the 5 year length of playing have seen STT grow from infancy to what it is now. We are still here. Not just to complain but because we love the game, we love trek, we love our fleet families. To suggest playing a different game is to suggest that TP/RNG should lose customers. Lately it would appear that the game changes taking place are geared toward new or mid lvl players, nothing for loyal players who have been here since the inception.
As everyone points out, this is a business. Those of us who have been here for that long are loyal consumers also. Sometimes we may get upset when our voices go un-heard.
Balancing new/mid/long term players is key at this point in keeping all players. This is a hard thing to do in business. But loyalty programs and suggestion boxes exist at every store.