Designing ships?

[Larky2k]

Could STO down the line in an Expansion or patch implement Ship design were you design your own ship. It shouldn't be OTT the options could be;
1. Do you want a Saucer.
2. What saucer shape do you want.
3. What engineering section do you want.
4. Where on the Neck do you want the saucer placed.
5. How many Nacelles do you want. (1, 2, 3 or 4)
6. Positions of the Nacelles
7. Extra Structural parts.
8. Equipment. I.E Weapons, warp drive and so on

Once you done that you name it and the send it of for processing.

To keep it to canon you have points limit so you can't make Death Stars and you have 3 Areas to invest in.
Offensive, Defensive and scientific. And you use a slider to distribute the points this way if you do go all out in 1 you be lacking in the other 2 so you could have loads of weapons but next to no shields.

This is just a thought. feed back be nice.

[IanD967]

erm....thats pretty much in the game anyway :)

you pick a basic class of ship and the more you play and the further you advance the more options you get :)

most if not all ships you have seen so far have in someway been changed by the customisation system
there is even a few examples around somewhere on the net :) i know there is a good one in a PC Gamer mag i got but i cant scan it :(

although it isnt to the extent you have described though since that seems more like GalCiv II and Starship Creator heh

[Zepath]

Cryptic is known in the industry for their incredible customizations they afford the players, and they have already made it clear that are going all out in that aspect with their character creator, and their ship modification tools.

But they have also made it clear that you will not be able to modify a ship so much that the other players in the game cannot tell what class it is. In fact you can't change anything about the ship other than its appearance "general" appearance (to make it personal). You modify the effectiveness of your ship through your crew, your Bridge Officers, and what you outfit it with.

And this makes sense, if you're Klingon getting coming up on a Federation ship, and its a Galaxy class ... it should look like a galaxy class, not a Miranda class. A game need continuity with its ships if they ever hope to maintain a fair playing field.

And as for creating a ship and sending it in for processing? I just don't see that happening. A huge part of this game's audience is going to be "Trekkies" ... and likely everyone of them would like the opportunity to design their own ship from scratch.

The challenge here is, they are trying to stick to canon. They can't have 100,000 different types of ships running around the game (that in itself would destroy the immersion IMO).

But then you get to the "processing" comment. Process? You mean like approval from a "Game Master" (for the lack of a better term)?

Can you even imagine what an undertaking like that would be, to have 10,000 players designed ships to hit your doorstep and you have to now sit down and analyze their appropriate-ness, their impact on the game, and all the balance issues involved with inserting it to the game.

Oh yeah, and after you spend a month getting through the first 100 ships of the 10,000 submitted, the next month 10,000 more show up?

I just don't see that happening. Although it might be cool for them to offer a contest where people design ships, we vote on the top 10 we like, and then they select from those the winner that will actually appear in the game.

[Larky2k]

There wouldn't be just 1 game master be loads and when i mean by processing is a code that has certain parameters to be met and if approved then its out there for others to build or have it as a Fleet specific ability that way all designs go to the Admiral of your fleet and they approve or reject the design.:D

[Kinjiru]

The reason that I don't see a total creation system (like the Alien creator for ships) is that Star Trek ships need to still be recognizable as... belonging in Star Trek.

Federation ships, Klingon, Cardassian, Romulan... they all share certain characteristics, and they all have their own design "flair" that is present on each ship within a faction. A Federation capital ship with no Saucer or Nacelles just doesn't look like a federation ship. Look at the Defiant for example. The saucer is the basic shape and nacelles are still present, just covered with armor so as to not be so vulnerable. --- And she's the most "different" of all of the Startfleet ships. Unless you'd like to count the Olympia, which has a sphere instead of a saucer... but she's pretty ugly. :)

[Larky2k]

They will be, the saucer shapes are all the shapes you see in the movies/series.

Basically everything seen in Movie or series will be at your disposal you could create the most FUGLY ship ever but instantly you know it's star trek by the curves and by the Canon Ship Design Rules laid down by Gene Roddenberry.

[LordDave]

They will be, the saucer shapes are all the shapes you see in the movies/series.

Basically everything seen in Movie or series will be at your disposal you could create the most FUGLY ship ever but instantly you know it's star trek by the curves and by the Canon Ship Design Rules laid down by Gene Roddenberry.

So basically kit-bashing?

Yeah... let's not. Also, how would you balance it? If I have the body of a sovy (lots of power) and the saucer of an intrepid (which wouldn't work anyway but whater) I'd get lots of power for my loads of weapons. It's not balanced. And it looks really ugly. Plus... it's two different models. How in the name of code could you even merge them?
Unless you want turbolifts that go out into space. :p

[deeboboy]

i like the comp idea about the new type of ships that could be created,,,,, i do think more people will enter comps but i agree you have to stick to the basis of star trek wisdom. but on the other hand i do like the thought of building a soverign class ship twice the size of a normal one that would be cool. sometimes we can wish and wonder but i bet there will be something along the lines of.

you can have 6 torpedos bays added capt but you will loose impulse speed in return things like that make the balance tricky but yet amazing.....

[Larky2k]

you haven't really read what iv written have you
So basically kit-bashing?

Yeah... let's not. Also, how would you balance it? If I have the body of a sovy (lots of power) and the saucer of an intrepid (which wouldn't work anyway but whater) I'd get lots of power for my loads of weapons. It's not balanced. And it looks really ugly. Plus... it's two different models. How in the name of code could you even merge them?
Unless you want turbolifts that go out into space. :p

I said you CHOOSE the Saucer and Hull so you have a unique looking ship then all the power and weapons will be allocated points which you have a set amount (the same with what ever combo you come up with) you use the points to equip the ship with its weapons, warp core, power systems, shields, sensors etc etc. This way you can't make an over powered ship as you have to think about what you want in it.

[LordDave]

you haven't really read what iv written have you


I said you CHOOSE the Saucer and Hull so you have a unique looking ship then all the power and weapons will be allocated points which you have a set amount (the same with what ever combo you come up with) you use the points to equip the ship with its weapons, warp core, power systems, shields, sensors etc etc. This way you can't make an over powered ship as you have to think about what you want in it.

To what end? Making ugly ships that could be so overpowered on weapons that they could blow up a borg cube in one shot?

Even in the realm of games, you need designs that flow well. Designs that fit one another. I just pasted an intrepid saucer onto a sovy. They don't work.

But it's not going to happen so..
Yay.

[dmckey]

Yeah who wants to do a kit bash, they are so boring,
Yeager (http://msfm.seryan.com/stephen_l/ussyeager.htm)
Shelley (http://msfm.seryan.com/stephen_l/ussearhart.htm)
Saratoga (http://msfm.seryan.com/stephen_l/usssaratoga.htm)
Triton (http://msfm.seryan.com/stephen_l/ussneptune.htm)

[LordDave]

Yeah who wants to do do a kit bash, they are so boring,
Yeager (http://msfm.seryan.com/stephen_l/ussyeager.htm)
Shelley (http://msfm.seryan.com/stephen_l/ussearhart.htm)
Saratoga (http://msfm.seryan.com/stephen_l/usssaratoga.htm)
Triton (http://msfm.seryan.com/stephen_l/ussneptune.htm)

I said ugly, not boring. :p

[NCC1970]

Like Starship creator?

You select a class of ship and you can somwhat change the shape of the saucer and drive section. Change the shape of the nacelles or even add nacelles such as the case with the Excelsior. But no matter what you did, you could still tell what class of ship it was. And it did not effect the performance of the ship.

I think that should be the case in this game. How you make your ship look should effect how it performs in certain areas and the number of crew you can have.

But I also wished you could pick rather you want your starship class to be the standard version or say a battleship version.

Lets say I get a Constitution class. I can have the standard version or I can select the battleship version of it. If I get the battleship version (command cruiser as they were called) that means it is geared more for offense/defense. But that would mean I could lose science labs and my ability for exploration would be limited.

Just a thought.

[FerrariF40LM]

I said ugly, not boring. :p

beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

I think porches are ugly looking and boring to look at. But there are people think that they are the nicest cars ever.

@ OP: I agree with the idea

[jhem99]

you haven't really read what iv written have you
.

Me neither

[IanD967]

i like the Yeager class :p

i could see the starship creator in-game being a bit like the starship creator but frankly if you could use the same tools for STO then people wouldent be piloting fed/klingon/orion/gorn themed ships :D you would be seeing BSG, Stargate ships etc :)

[IanD967]

just got this from the "Ask Cryptic" on the Feb 19th 2009 edition:

"How will ship modification and customization work? Will we be able to move the position of nacelles and phaser banks, or will we be issued with 'standard' vessels of a class into which we can insert equipment of our choice (additional science labs, different impulse engines etc)?

Cryptic Studios has always been the forerunner when it comes to avatar customization, and Star Trek starship customization is no exception. As you progress through the game, you will gain access to new ship configurations. Each new configuration contains several known Star Trek classes that have similar profiles and silhouettes. For instance, you may start out in a light cruiser. In this configuration, you will find ships like the Miranda class and the Centaur class. Both these ships have a prominent saucer section, and two nacelles that hang below the saucer. Both these classes have a similar configuration that is nothing like, say, a Galaxy class, Defiant or Nebula class ship.

When you have a ship that is a certain configuration, you will be able to modify all the parts – the saucer, the nacelles, the pylons, the primary hull, etc. You will also be able to modify colors, decals, and other bits. However, the configuration will remain recognizable. If you are in the light cruiser configuration, you can make it look just like a Miranda, a Centaur, or something completely unique. The combinations are massive, however, you will not be able to have 4 nacelles or make your light cruiser look like a Galaxy class ship. So your ship will be unique, but others will be able to recognize its general capabilities. People will be able to look at someone’s ship and say, “Hey, that’s like a Nebula, so I know it’s an advanced science vessel”, or ”Hey, look at that cool Prometheus variant!”

You will also be able to modify the ships systems. You will modify and upgrade primary items like your weapons, shields, deflector dish, impulse and warp engines, etc. You will also be able to add lots of enhancements to your systems, such as targeting computers for better accuracy, EPS conduits upgrades to improve power transfer rates, better biobeds for your sick bay, etc. Different ships will have different enhancement slots (so an escort vessel will have more tactical upgrade slots). Finally, the primary way you will customize your ship is by what Bridge Officers you assign to your duty stations. Your Bridge Officers will come with unique skills that can only be used if they are at a duty station.

Altogether, ship customization will be an important part of the game – both visually and strategically.”
"

i think that answers the question entirly :)

[Larky2k]

yes that does

[IanD967]

yes that does

glad i could be of help :)

[NCC1970]

Good enough for me.