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Q&A with Admiral Prince April '18 Reflections

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  • Banjo1012Banjo1012 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Roland 359 wrote: »
    I don't know, while I agree there were some vague responses, I was actually heartened to hear that there is so much ongoing development for the game. And I took the "soons" as an acknowledgement that they need to do sufficient testing before rolling out new features. If he had made hard date promises, and they missed them (or rolled them out buggy and too soon), we'd have the pitchforks out.

    Even so, how bout just take one thing that is being worked on and say, “this is what we are working on and this is how we hope it works”. Just one. Like a gauntlet fix or something. It doesn’t even have to be major.

  • Roland 359 wrote: »
    I don't know, while I agree there were some vague responses, I was actually heartened to hear that there is so much ongoing development for the game. And I took the "soons" as an acknowledgement that they need to do sufficient testing before rolling out new features. If he had made hard date promises, and they missed them (or rolled them out buggy and too soon), we'd have the pitchforks out.

    I don't disagree that it is good to hear that there is a lot of development planned behind the scenes, and I don't think anyone would dispute that. And I also agree that hard dates for when new features are coming aren't practical, as, like you, I'd rather them be good than be soon.

    What I am disappointed in is that so many of the ongoing concerns (some of which have persisted since day one) of the people that fund the game's continued existence have again been evaded, or not addressed at all. PR answers satisfy no one.
  • [DC] Principia[DC] Principia ✭✭✭✭
    Roland 359 wrote: »
    I don't know, while I agree there were some vague responses, I was actually heartened to hear that there is so much ongoing development for the game. And I took the "soons" as an acknowledgement that they need to do sufficient testing before rolling out new features. If he had made hard date promises, and they missed them (or rolled them out buggy and too soon), we'd have the pitchforks out.

    I don't disagree that it is good to hear that there is a lot of development planned behind the scenes, and I don't think anyone would dispute that. And I also agree that hard dates for when new features are coming aren't practical, as, like you, I'd rather them be good than be soon.

    What I am disappointed in is that so many of the ongoing concerns (some of which have persisted since day one) of the people that fund the game's continued existence have again been evaded, or not addressed at all. PR answers satisfy no one.
    I feel like DB would be better off doing announcements when they have something they'd like to announce and not bother having Q&As if they don't have any questions they're going to be willing to address in a concrete manner. Even innocuous questions that ought to be fairly easy to answer were ignored. Don't create the expectation of answers if you are unwilling to provide any.
  • CSR _WaylanderCSR _Waylander ✭✭✭
    edited April 2018
    There was 29 questions and nothing of real note learnt. Is anyone surprised that they said that there is more collections and ships coming. Of course the events have high participation but that doesn't mean they don't need improving as most people think they do.
  • Lack of crew slots is the number one issue people have. Many of us asked about what is being done to address this. We were all ignored. If DB just allowed us to freeze lvl 100 fully equipped crew and didnt have full stars then we would have no crew slot problems. Or allow us to at least freeze legendaries. Each one I get is a permanent crew slot taken.

    Well it would instantly solve the problem but then DB wouldn't make money with people buying dillithium or trying to upgrade their VIP level for more crew slots.
  • Banjo1012 wrote: »
    Roland 359 wrote: »
    I don't know, while I agree there were some vague responses, I was actually heartened to hear that there is so much ongoing development for the game. And I took the "soons" as an acknowledgement that they need to do sufficient testing before rolling out new features. If he had made hard date promises, and they missed them (or rolled them out buggy and too soon), we'd have the pitchforks out.

    Even so, how bout just take one thing that is being worked on and say, “this is what we are working on and this is how we hope it works”. Just one. Like a gauntlet fix or something. It doesn’t even have to be major.

    Off the top of my head: Events. didn't the admiral say they were working on a ship based event, and that expedition events would only return as part of a hybrid during the next mega(and the reason why) ? Some of the criticism here is warranted, but it seems like the q&a had some useful info, if you were not looking for a specific answer to a specific question.
  • In 6 months if we have any intelligence it won’t be us anymore...it will be a new population of fools...

    So i guess we are the current population of fools lol
  • It's not all bad .
    Don't lose sight of the fact that DB is a relatively small studio despite holding the rights to two major licenses . Such licenses cost a fortune , hence the fact that they're highly unlikely to possess an EA-like budget . Implementing major changes in a mobile game requires more than just writing a new line of code . But , let's put that aside ...

    I think that what they need to change imperatively is their " drop / loot " algorithms for Packs .
    Every once in a while when i get that Offer for a 10x10 or 15x10 Rare pack , i indulge myself and buy it .
    Today i opened 15 rare packs , and i was very disappointed to observe YET AGAIN that on the 150 pull it represents , there was a saddening lack of variety in the characters i got . 7x Morn , 6x Lwaxana and Sniper Ezri Dax , 5x Third Remata'Klan , and the list goes on ...
    I got the bare minimum of Super Rare characters , and not a single Legendary .

    I know i'm plagued by bad luck , but i suspect i'm not the only one experiencing those dismaying pulls from packs worth 10 to 20 quid ...
  • [TLA] 84wb wrote: »
    Is it just me, or id the tenor of that Q&A more or less "sounds good and it might come, but we don't know when and exactly what. So stay tuned. Something will come.. later".
    All in all the Q&A doesn't really show any timed goals, which - to me - is a rather bad sign for the progress of development.

    Absolutely my thinking. All my respect to those who develop this game. I'm sure it's complicated, especially dealing with fans who are picky and, let's face it, entitled (looking in the mirror there). However, the political "I'm not sure." and "Later" and "Maybe" just turn me off. I once asked outright about the captain levels saying ummm, maybe we ought to get some kind of reward system set up for those who advance. However, the answer to that commonsense idea was an outright "no". It seems to me that DB just flies by the seat of their pants with most of the development including concept. And whoever has their finger on the pulse there really lacks a strong vision that relates to what fans want. They just see $ coming in and say "well, it must work." The idea of creating a strong base that sticks around based on in-game rewarding play seems to elude them.

    I apologize for the terse nature of my comments, but it's how I feel about this game. I still play it. I often ask myself why, to be perfectly honest.
  • DralixDralix ✭✭✭✭✭
    Dmeadz wrote: »
    And whoever has their finger on the pulse there really lacks a strong vision that relates to what fans want. They just see $ coming in and say "well, it must work." The idea of creating a strong base that sticks around based on in-game rewarding play seems to elude them.

    I apologize for the terse nature of my comments, but it's how I feel about this game. I still play it. I often ask myself why, to be perfectly honest.

    Your last paragraph speaks directly to the one before it. For all the talk of their practices not creating a dedicated, lasting player base, people keep playing. Even in spite of themselves. So yeah, seems like it is working.
  • Dralix wrote: »
    Your last paragraph speaks directly to the one before it. For all the talk of their practices not creating a dedicated, lasting player base, people keep playing. Even in spite of themselves. So yeah, seems like it is working.

    Truth, but if you alienate your customers how long can you last?
  • Dralix wrote: »

    Truth, but if you alienate your customers how long can you last?

    Until your alienated customers finally leave, I guess.

    And I'm not trying to pick on you specifically, or the STT player base in general. Games are designed to be addictive. I've seen this sentiment in many mobile games, and PC games before that. People keep playing for months after it's no longer enjoyable. They can't stop.

    I'm sure my wife is happy that my addictive personality is satisfied by gaming instead of heroin.[/quote]

    I'm a recovering alcoholic on year 10. I'm certain this is merely part of replacement, which is one method I teach to many of my own clients (yes, I'm a therapist now).

  • JeanLucKirkJeanLucKirk ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited May 2018
    Anything coming soon, may or may not ever appear and if it does, enjoy it because if it's good it won't last long.

    Unnecessary comment removed. Make your points without getting personal, thanks ˜Shan



  • edited May 2018
    Anything coming soon, may or may not ever appear and if it does, enjoy it because if it's good it won't last long.

    Since you throw a fit, complain and "cry" all the time + get mad about 1000 things in this game instead of enjoying do yourself a favour: Delete it and please also forget about this forum, lol. Hey, more time on your hands where you could be a great hubby and spoil your wifey, good deal,isn´t it ;) ?

    P.S.: Seriously, there are some aspects where STT needs improvements, zero disagreement here. But all those peeps like you who complain endlessly day and night need a reality check. Plus are either trolls or master complainers who unleash their real life frustrations on a game, lol. How did Bill Shatner once say in a book of his: "Get a life" (cause this is only a game ;) )

    Blatant Ad hominem.

    There is a difference between discussing things and participating in the process which was offered by the developers, and the things you are accusing that person of. A person, as it so happens, who has been a long time ally in civil, and constructive advocacy work and conversation around some of those "aspects where STT needs improvements". Aspects which DB has explicitly asked for questions about, and has stated on multiple occasions they were considering the communities feedback on.

    Unnecessary comment removed. ˜Shan

    Agree. After playing this for almost 2 years, the kool-aid effect is no longer that potent.

    And this kind of response where they made QnA sounded like a big deal, is a _____________!!!
  • Captain SushiCaptain Sushi ✭✭✭✭
    Prosser wrote: »
    The only thing their answers really showed us was just how disengaged they are from the player base. They really have no clue what the average player wants.

    On the contrary, I think they have a VERY clear idea; they just have no interest in providing it as they believe it would not increase their revenue stream.
  • I was disappointed in no changes to event rewards, such as at least giving us some more rewards for the top 1500. The game has grown. That’s why participation is at an all time high but it’s not going to stay that way when most of us are realizing it’s cheaper to buy packs for the rewards we want vs paying just to rank and MAYBE get them.
  • These answers (if you can call them that) were very vague. The 5 things I care most about are
    1. new event types - this was one of very few qustions answered, but we also already new about it and was promised earlier just keeps getting pushed back. I would have liked to see them say at least two new event types are being rolled out.
    2. Crew slots - NOT EVEN MENTIONED!
    3. Honor rate that is currently insane - This is a hot button issue. The way they trivialized it is nothing short of insulting.
    4. Event rewards - Another hot issue. The answer was just awful.
    5. Beholds with 3 FF crew - NOT MENTIONED!
    STAR TREK JUNKIES
  • I think DB posted this with expectation of some players gonna be pissed......

    Those that Are loyal gonna stay playing regardless... those aren’t gonna leave. This way it can help them to get rid unhappy players... and then bring new bloods.

    Win win situation for them.

    Rinse and repeat...
  • ThurthoradThurthorad ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited May 2018
    I think my main issue on reflection is the slow pace of development. There is some reasonable stuff in the Q&A, but nowhere near enough to make up for what isn't in there.

    Things I am looking forward to:
    More collections (hard to give them too much credit on this, as the main engine is there already, but still a positive step)
    More updates to Voyages (by far the best thing in the game, but I am nervous that they are going to try to nerf it as some 'improvement')
    New event type. (Badly needed, but I will withold judgement until it is released. What I really hoped to see was 4 or 5 new event types, and they'd keep the ones that worked.)

    Things I am on the fence about:
    The return of expeditions. (I like that they explained that half the community really hates them, but they are still making us run them anyway... It's not a hill I choose to die on, but I was really hoping that we'd seen the end of them)
    Arena update (badly needed, but I am skeptical about it for now. This is a classic situation where the vaguery of the communication is doing more harm than good. We need a dev diary for a lot of this, about 6 months, 3 months and 30 days out so that people can give feedback)
    Release of the Reliant. (There is no force in the 'verse that could get me to pay for it at the prices DB charges, but the sooner it is released, the sooner it goes into premium packs)

    Things that I am actively annoyed about:
    DBs attitude to event rewards. This is not something that I actually care about as I do pretty well in events as it is, but the failure to recognise that rewards should scale with participation really irks me. Their logic is, "it's making money, why change it?". This naked inability to empathise with their customers annoys me a lot. Everything seems to be about making money, nothing is actually about improving their product because they aspire to offer a good product at a fair price.
    Pending Gauntlet feedback (How much unfocussed feedback do they need. They admitted that it's junk 6 months ago. It's time for Dev Blog 1, where they outline the changes that they are considering so that the player base can review those changes and therefore give far more useful feedback than it's a boring RNG slog full of walls of the same characters. In general the answer to this question read like, yep, we know it's bad, but we don't actually care that much about this, but we have to pretend we do, change coming later, probably in several years...)

    DB has a lot of work to do, an enormous amount really, and it sounds to me like they are slow peddling it. A lot of people have spent a lot of money on this game and DB seem to be just taking the money and spending it on other things.

    In the next year we need to see:
    The *successful* release of at least 2 new event types, which probably means 4 attempts.
    Updates to event reward tables (this shouldn't even be that hard to do, it doesn't require any serious architecture change)
    A complete overhaul of the ship system
    A complete overhaul of Gauntlet
    A completely new system that deepens the game experience, like Voyages did.
    Additions to Collections and Achievements

    And as always, actual communication instead of vague nonsense and open contempt for their players.

    What we're like to get? 1 new event attempt, the ship system update and some collections, with everything else still years away and subject to change...



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