Federation Captains use disruptors?

[overlordthor]

In the ship equipment page (http://www.startrekonline.com/ship_overview/equipment), it mentions "Additionally, there’s nothing stopping a captain from using disruptors rather than phasers on his ship."

This concerns me a little, Disruptors have never been a Federation thing, they've always been a Klingon and Romulan thing, the Federation has never used Disruptors in the past as far as I am aware. So why are they letting them now, it seems to be a big break away from Federation ships.

This form of crossing of technologies is one of those things I dont like. Each side needs things tailored to its side and unique to its side, to me Dirsuptors have been one of those things, similar to Cloaking devices.

The Federation similarly uses Phasers instead as the directed energy weapons, instead the Klingon's use the Disruptors fired in the beam setting (http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/memoryalpha/en/images/b/b0/Vor%27cha_firing_forward_disruptor.jpg) instead of firing the more pulse (http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/memoryalpha/en/images/a/a1/Klingon_fleet%2C_Sacrifice_of_Angels.jpg) or ball like (http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/memoryalpha/en/images/0/0b/Kohlars_battle_cruiser_firing.jpg) Disruptor.

[Tain]

Yeah, this worried me too. I thought one of the main reasons the federation didn't use disruptors, both personal and ship mounted is safety- disruptors are a far more blunt, untamed form of energy weapon that has all sorts of nasty side effects the Federation was keen to stay very far away from.

[overlordthor]

Yeah, I agree.


And, if it was a desire to give the Federation a different style of energy weapon, I think they can easily go with the Defiant's Pulse phasers, they fire in pulses instead of beams.

[bridgettebeneshe]

I was less worried about this than others because I'm not as sure that it is directly relating to Starfleet.

That said, I expect that there are a few restrictions. First of all, a disruptor probably is not standard issue for Starfleet and would either have to be bought from a neutral faction or acquired through salvage of another ship.

Now, I can think of an escort captain might want brute force rather than finese regarding weapons. Cannons are not the most subtle weapons either, and yet those would be common for a Defiant type escort.

Personally, I'm the kind of person who I would love to have a phaser or two in order to disrupt and disable an opponent in order to board and capture their ship rather than destroy it.

[CapnBludd]

It is a customizattion option, no one will make you use it.

I'm pretty sure I remember Starfleet Command 2 letting me mount other faction weapons, I remember using some plasma torpedoes but don't think I used any disrupters on a Fed ship, and I don't recall it being a mod.

[Loekii]

IIRC, they have mentioned a BlackMarket for cross factional trading. Perhaps if a Feddie wants disruptors, they can only obtain them from said blackmarket.

That would help reduce their population in Starfleet.

[Banar]

True it doesn't stick to Canon, but for the sake of more options I'm ok with it. The thing I am hoping for is different "levels" of weapons, i.e. Type X Phasers, Type XII Phasers or Class 4 Disruptor Cannon vs Class 2 Disruptor Cannon. They would have different power level usage, damage output etc. and allow for a wider range of upgrade ability. "Sweet! I just found an Engineer that can upgrade my Class 3 disruptors to class 4!"

[overlordthor]

I like the idea of custimizing my ships and having a lot of control, but I also like the idea of each side having their own types of weapons and technology, their own styles, and their own looks. Too much mixing and then the two factions lose their uniqueness.

The Federation gets phasers, and when they want "cannons" give them phaser cannons, like the Defiants, but scale them up if they want, the Federation gets easy access to torpedoes and phasers.

Ok, so if they want to let Federations get access to Disruptors, they lose a lot when they take disruptors, I'm sure officers will have abilities(captains included), that work specifically with your phasers, and since disruptors work differently, they cant use those abilities with Disruptors, also, Disruptors in their pulse form are not as effective at subsystem targeting, and the beam form of disruptors, is much like the phaser, so why use the beam form of disruptor when you can use phasers? So the Federation would not in general be as good at using disruptors as Klingons, maybe you balance it out that way, if you have some desire to let the federation use disruptors, which I still dont support.

(I dont see it being a standard thing for Federation officers to be able to specialize in disruptor technology, so maybe only those special few rare ones might have any abilities that work with them)

[Banar]

I like the idea of custimizing my ships and having a lot of control, but I also like the idea of each side having their own types of weapons and technology, their own styles, and their own looks. Too much mixing and then the two factions lose their uniqueness.

The Federation gets phasers, and when they want "cannons" give them phaser cannons, like the Defiants, but scale them up if they want, the Federation gets easy access to torpedoes and phasers.

Ok, so if they want to let Federations get access to Disruptors, they lose a lot when they take disruptors, I'm sure officers will have abilities(captains included), that work specifically with your phasers, and since disruptors work differently, they cant use those abilities with Disruptors, also, Disruptors in their pulse form are not as effective at subsystem targeting, and the beam form of disruptors, is much like the phaser, so why use the beam form of disruptor when you can use phasers? So the Federation would not in general be as good at using disruptors as Klingons, maybe you balance it out that way, if you have some desire to let the federation use disruptors, which I still dont support.

(I dont see it being a standard thing for Federation officers to be able to specialize in disruptor technology, so maybe only those special few rare ones might have any abilities that work with them)

It's been stated that Starfleet doesn't issue energy weapons other than phasers, so you will have to acquire other types of weapons through black markets, salvage etc.

I think it would be safe to assume that the same is true for the KDF and Disruptors.

[Tain]

Yeah, there needs to be some distinction between the sides, especially when it comes to technology. And Federation officers trading weapons on the black market? Seriously?

To explore strange new worlds. To seek out new life, and new civilizations. To boldy trade non regulation and hazardous weapon technology directly against the standing laws and policies of the very organization we oh-so-hypocritically claim to serve.

Yeah, really like the direction of that.

[Banar]

It's not below Starfleet captains to make use of all the resources available in a tough situation. Sometimes there is a difference between what's right, and the rules.

[overlordthor]

"These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. It's continuing mission, to explore strange new worlds. To exploit new life and new civilizations, to boldly destroy ships in order to salvage them and acquire non regulation and hazardous weapon technology, so that we can boldly expand our border to where no one has gone before."

P.S. I know, I sorta ripped you off, but I give you credit for coming up with the first variation, which may have been better.

Yeah, there needs to be some distinction between the sides, especially when it comes to technology. And Federation officers trading weapons on the black market? Seriously?

To explore strange new worlds. To seek out new life, and new civilizations. To boldy trade non regulation and hazardous weapon technology directly against the standing laws and policies of the very organization we oh-so-hypocritically claim to serve.

Yeah, really like the direction of that.

[Kaybok]

Disruptors should be Klingon/Romulan only. What they are allowing Federation in space does not match what they allow Federation on ground:


<Cryptic_Geko> There are hundreds of handheld weapons in STO. From standard issue pistols and rifles, all the way up to exotic anti-proton arcwave heavy assault cannon. There are 6 energy types (Phaser, Disruptor, Plasma, Tetryon, Polaron, and Anti-Proton), each have pistols, rifles and heavy assault. Each weapon has a different type of alt fire and procs. Starfleet weapons. Each weapon has a different type of alt fire and procs. Starfleet weapons, however, issue only phaser weapons, but there are high end phasers.


Well maybe its not what's allowed but what's "issued"?

[Banar]

Well maybe its not what's allowed but what's "issued"?

Exactly.

From my post on the last page:
It's been stated that Starfleet doesn't issue energy weapons other than phasers, so you will have to acquire other types of weapons through black markets, salvage etc.

I think it would be safe to assume that the same is true for the KDF and Disruptors.

[bridgettebeneshe]

There is the issue of salvage. In other words- I can loot a phaser from my opponent. It doesn't seem out of the blue for that to happen. However, I do suspect that the cross faction weapon exchange could create issues with the ship.

I suspect that this will be allowable but not optimal.

[igloo]

nothing could please me more. its my ship, its my subscription fee, if i want disrupters instead of phaser then by all means i will.

furthermore, this means other faction weapons will likely be available to us. there are 2 factions, imo the game would be dull if all we could fire were phasers, and photons or disrupters and photons because thats just how its been in the shows. that would leave out all the other weapon systems that we know and love.

[Banar]

Most of the same skills apply (at least in space) for the Klingon and Federation players, they can almost assuredly get the same specialization skills for all 6 different energy weapons types. However my guess is the availability and ease of acquisition will be the main difference when talking about Starfleet/KDF and which types of weapons they employ.

[z00t]

I think it's great they are allow cross-faction weaponry...

At first I thought about the ground combat aspect of using cross-faction weaponry...I pictured myself shooting away and bludgeoning mobs until alas, my phaser/rifle have run out of energy. Obviously I still have my bare hands...but wait! That humanoid I dropped over there, he had some sort of alien weaponry!

So yeah...like others have said, you may not be able to buy alien weaps from the Feddies, but would that stop you from using, and even keeping a weapon that could and probably would save your life?

The same thing goes for ship weapons...each Captain has a background in a certain field. If I was say a Tactical Captain, or a reformed Klingon Captain in the Federation, I would say my expanded knowledge & experience in weaponry would allow me to control more than the average issue weapons-systems, if I was so able to acquire them.


It's canon that feddy captains will more often than not submit to using another alien races technology on their vessels. I can point out a few episodes in every series that would back that up.

[sbrodie]

One of things we're really big on here at Cryptic is player customization. You can see that in all of our games. The Costume Creator in the "City of" games is still widely considered one of the best character creators out there. The Costume Creator in Champions Online is even considered a step a up from that.

You all have seen what's possible in STO's character creator. Complete customization of your characters uniform, looks, what race they are, even the ability to make your own custom alien race to live in the Star Trek Universe.

We've talked about ship customization in the past as well. You already know that you'll be able to change the "look" of your starship.

To us, it only makes sense to allow this for your equipment as well. I know not all of you are role players, but think of the possibilities this opens up for you if were to be role playing. What if you were playing the part of a renegade Star Fleet Officer who has a vendetta against the Klingons? Or maybe you're playing as a member of Section 21. Maybe, you just think it's cool to be flying a Defiant with disruptors.

All this is doing is creating more opportunity for customization in your play style. You don't have to equip disruptors on your starship. However, should you want to for some reason, and you manage to find them, we want you to be able to.

Thanks,

Stormshade

[Morgomir]

One of things we're really big on here at Cryptic is player customization. You can see that in all of our games. The Costume Creator in the "City of" games is still widely considered one of the best character creators out there. The Costume Creator in Champions Online is even considered a step a up from that.

You all have seen what's possible in STO's character creator. Complete customization of your characters uniform, looks, what race they are, even the ability to make your own custom alien race to live in the Star Trek Universe.

We've talked about ship customization in the past as well. You already know that you'll be able to change the "look" of your starship.

To us, it only makes sense to allow this for your equipment as well. I know not all of you are role players, but think of the possibilities this opens up for you if were to be role playing. What if you were playing the part of a renegade Star Fleet Officer who has a vendetta against the Klingons? Or maybe you're playing as a member of Section 21. Maybe, you just think it's cool to be flying a Defiant with disruptors.

All this is doing is creating more opportunity for customization in your play style. You don't have to equip disruptors on your starship. However, should you want to for some reason, and you manage to find them, we want you to be able to.

Thanks,

Stormshade

I can live with that.

[dudewhat]

I agree I think Phasers should be Federation only weapons while Disrupters should be Klingon only weapons. This would add some much needed faction diversity to the game. I can live with Federation disrupters but it doesn't make sense whatsoever.

[Banar]

I agree I think Phasers should be Federation only weapons while Disrupters should be Klingon only weapons. This would add some much needed faction diversity to the game. I can live with Federation disrupters but it doesn't make sense whatsoever.

People are complaining like crazy about how Klingons are different from Starfleet and they will not have the same options blah blah blah. It appears people don't really want diversity.

[knightofhyrule730]

Or maybe you're playing as a member of Section 21.

Section 31

[emery0]

One of things we're really big on here at Cryptic is player customization. You can see that in all of our games. The Costume Creator in the "City of" games is still widely considered one of the best character creators out there. The Costume Creator in Champions Online is even considered a step a up from that.

You all have seen what's possible in STO's character creator. Complete customization of your characters uniform, looks, what race they are, even the ability to make your own custom alien race to live in the Star Trek Universe.

We've talked about ship customization in the past as well. You already know that you'll be able to change the "look" of your starship.

To us, it only makes sense to allow this for your equipment as well. I know not all of you are role players, but think of the possibilities this opens up for you if were to be role playing. What if you were playing the part of a renegade Star Fleet Officer who has a vendetta against the Klingons? Or maybe you're playing as a member of Section 21. Maybe, you just think it's cool to be flying a Defiant with disruptors.

All this is doing is creating more opportunity for customization in your play style. You don't have to equip disruptors on your starship. However, should you want to for some reason, and you manage to find them, we want you to be able to.

Thanks,

Stormshade

How about Section 31?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Section_31

In the Star Trek fictional universe, Section 31 is the name of an autonomous intelligence and defense organization. It is presented as a special security operation, manned by United Federation of Planets citizens, that is not subject to the normal constraints of Starfleet ethical protocols.

[Sunborn]

from various:
You mean section 31.

You have not heard of Section 21 because it must be the super-duper secret section that not even section 31 knows about!



As to the topic, I don't have a problem with my faction be less limited to what weapons are available. The universe is more dangerous than ever. It makes sense for Star Fleet to relax regulations, to me anyway.

[Tamgros]

I would like to remind you all that on a keyboard, the number 3 is often placed near, adjacent even, to the number 2. Please take that into consideration :)

With that in mind, I'm totally giving 6 of 9 a disrupter... :p

[ransomwk]

You have not heard of Section 21 because it must be the super-duper secret section that not even section 31 knows about!

Section 21 is who gives section 31 their orders. Just like area 51 is just a decoy for area 52 :p



I still think disruptors on a federation ship is out of place.....even in RP.

[Sjet]

I still think disruptors on a federation ship is out of place.....even in RP.

Like a Romulan cloaking device in the Defiant or Borg modifications to Voyager?

There were plenty of plot spins on faction specific technology in Trek. If a player wishes to put disruptors on his ship for any reason, RP or otherwise, that fits just fine to me.

[ransomwk]

Like a Romulan cloaking device in the Defiant or Borg modifications to Voyager?

There were plenty of plot spins on faction specific technology in Trek. If a player wishes to put disruptors on his ship for any reason, RP or otherwise, that fits just fine to me.

Those were all one time things included by the power of plot. Are we to expect any given federation ship to be able to equip a cloak, or borg equipment? What of a federation player who wishes to own a Klingon ship, will they be given a ship from a whole other faction simply on the basis of a one time event? There must be a line drawn somewhere, or the only difference between the two factions will be the flag.

[scottage00]

I think it was mentioned that the feds will have easier access to phasers and the klingons to disruptors, so you will see mostly ships equiped with what you'd expect. The times when you would have something differant is the random times that you pick something up from a planet and it might be more like

Tactical: "Sir we've detected that the enemy Gorn are using metaphasic shielding"
Captain: "Right, remodulate the phasers with our new anti-proton emmiters, that should help"

[verse4]

I can live with that.

me 2 .

[verse4]

Like a Romulan cloaking device in the Defiant or Borg modifications to Voyager?

There were plenty of plot spins on faction specific technology in Trek. If a player wishes to put disruptors on his ship for any reason, RP or otherwise, that fits just fine to me.


THIS! .

[HyenaZERO]

Like a Romulan cloaking device in the Defiant or Borg modifications to Voyager?


Lets not forget the MacGuyverisms in Star Fleet Battles and Star Fleet Command. I loved my battlefield salvaged Connie that had a Romulan plasma torpedo launcher.

[Sunborn]

Section 21 is who gives section 31 their orders. Just like area 51 is just a decoy for area 52 :p


Yes exactly! Now you're getting it!


I still think disruptors on a federation ship is out of place.....even in RP.

Oh wait, no your not. ;)

[J.L.Picard]

I agree I think Phasers should be Federation only weapons while Disrupters should be Klingon only weapons. This would add some much needed faction diversity to the game. I can live with Federation disrupters but it doesn't make sense whatsoever.

romulans use disruptors you going to take em away?

Klingons also have their own version of phasers you going to remove that too?

Federation is by far the most technologically advanced race in the quadrant they use phasers becaus the believe they are better and suits the ship designs better too if they found a better disruptor im sure they would have no problems with using it.

[Huutini]

Yeah I agree.

Freedom to do anything out of the ordinary, even when technological easily possible and very easy to explain RP-wise was NEVER part of the IP and has therefore to be strictly banned from this game for "not-agreeability with the Dogma"!!!

Oh wait...

Hmm, where is Peregrines "Dangerous Fans"-Thread again?!?

[TruthSeer]

I really don't see why this is only becoming a problem/issue now. They've actually mentioned a while ago that we'll be able to add things like plasma torpedoes, disruptors, and polaron beams to our ships arsenal.

My only question is, what about colors? I personally hope that we'll have conformed weapons fire color within factions. And while it may make figuring out what your being hit with that could be what scans of the ship are for, that and who cares when you being hit? :)

[Eclipse1987]

I really don't see why this is only becoming a problem/issue now. They've actually mentioned a while ago that we'll be able to add things like plasma torpedoes, disruptors, and polaron beams to our ships arsenal.

This!

Personally it dosen't bother me, and imo fits well into the games war time theme.

[piponolo]

All I have to say is less QQ more pew pew!!


Jokes. Not a big deal for me. The black market idea is how I will justify giving the Klingons a taste of their own medicine!

[Sjet]

Those were all one time things included by the power of plot. Are we to expect any given federation ship to be able to equip a cloak, or borg equipment? What of a federation player who wishes to own a Klingon ship, will they be given a ship from a whole other faction simply on the basis of a one time event? There must be a line drawn somewhere, or the only difference between the two factions will be the flag.

Overly dramatic statement, but not exactly true is it? Especially with what we already know regarding the more PvP-like gameplay of the Klignon faction and the different classes of ships.

And if something happens more than once you can conclude that its probable for it to happen again. Maybe not in numbers like we'll see here, but its our own story to write so I still don't see the problem

[Jeck-Kar.Rathimon]

In the ship equipment page (http://www.startrekonline.com/ship_overview/equipment), it mentions "Additionally, there’s nothing stopping a captain from using disruptors rather than phasers on his ship."

This concerns me a little, Disruptors have never been a Federation thing, they've always been a Klingon and Romulan thing, the Federation has never used Disruptors in the past as far as I am aware. So why are they letting them now, it seems to be a big break away from Federation ships.

This form of crossing of technologies is one of those things I dont like. Each side needs things tailored to its side and unique to its side, to me Dirsuptors have been one of those things, similar to Cloaking devices.

The Federation similarly uses Phasers instead as the directed energy weapons, instead the Klingon's use the Disruptors fired in the beam setting (http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/memoryalpha/en/images/b/b0/Vor%27cha_firing_forward_disruptor.jpg) instead of firing the more pulse (http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/memoryalpha/en/images/a/a1/Klingon_fleet%2C_Sacrifice_of_Angels.jpg) or ball like (http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/memoryalpha/en/images/0/0b/Kohlars_battle_cruiser_firing.jpg) Disruptor.

The Vo'Quv (http://www.startrekonline.com/ships/voquv) is said to be able to fire quantum torpedoes. In current canon (as in, before this game), Quantum Torpedoes were exclusive to the Federation.

So if the Klingons can have Quantum torpedoes, then the Federation can have Disruptor weapons (even if it is only available via a black market).

[Loekii]

I would like to remind you all that on a keyboard, the number 3 is often placed near, adjacent even, to the number 2. Please take that into consideration :)


I thought it was just a mistake in hitting the 21 key instead of the 31 key. :p

[Haggard]

Yeah, this worried me too. I thought one of the main reasons the federation didn't use disruptors, both personal and ship mounted is safety- disruptors are a far more blunt, untamed form of energy weapon that has all sorts of nasty side effects the Federation was keen to stay very far away from.

This, and because according to the tech manuals I've seen, a disruptor can't do anything that a phaser can't do. Phasers are safer and more flexible weapons, but are also more complex. This goes for both ship scale and portable versions of the weaponry. This conversation is hilarious because of the assumption that disruptors > phasers and that every member of Starfleet is going to be trying to obtain them.

If anything the reverse will likely be true and the Klingons and their allies will be trying to obtain phaser technology, which I don't think anyone really has a problem with.

[Elboulevardo]

how big a deal is this anyway? im sure disruptors, ion cannons, etc arent going to be available for every starfleet ship right off the bat, im sure you probably have to find these/salvage by chance

perhaps its the whole "red vs green" stigma that people cant get over...pulse phasers on the defiant were very similar to klingon disruptor cannons, they only shot faster, probably did more damage, and were red/orange

so there ya go...to meet everyone in the middle, make it so when weapons of the opposing faction are equipped, they still use the same faction colour...red/orange disruptor cannons, green phasers (disruptor beams are already pretty close to a phaser as it is)

[Deltaop]

I think that some techs should be race specific only.

I am against all weapons and components being available for everyone.

Like quantum torpedos should be for federation only and disruptors only for klingons

Sorry but a sovereign doing a disruptor cannon broadside would just look wrong.:mad:

If you want to allow players to use all and any tech and components then introduce, Orion pirate faction or something similar later on with their own pirate hull designs and maybe a few stolen hulls available to use like bop , ktinga , talon , miranda and saber.

I know this is not going to happen but

PLEASE !

At bare minimum make the skills available for say disruptor enhancement only available to klingons so while a federation captain could technically mount them on his ship their effectiveness would be limited because his officers do not have access to the disrupter weapons skill improvement.

Likewise quantum torpedo enhancement skills should be federation only, so if a klingon wants to outfit his ship with quantum’s he can but he will not be as effective as say a federation captain that has an officer with that skill.

Because if everyone can swap and change other races weapons and techs on their ships in and out that would suck big time, it would defeat the purpose of playing as that race.

Im sorry but this is a big deal. Sure you say not everyone will have this to begin with but, fighting battles late game and fleet engagements and people show up with ships fully tricked out with mixed tech, and we start seeing soverign's packing quantums and heavy disruptor beams, or a galaxy firing green beams and launching bops from its shuttle bay. :eek:

Sorry but i am against this its not trek, if you are going down this path may as well just make it so people can fly xwings and starfurys aswell.

[Tribbler]

I thought it was just a mistake in hitting the 21 key instead of the 31 key. :p

We just didn't know that there is a Section 1-30 that did different things. Did you not get the memo?

Stormshades power is omnipotent.

On the other hand, all bets are off as far as what the Klingons get to use and what the Federation gets to use.

After all we will be at war, permission to use tactical nukes has been authorized with any secret development and WMD's

No Quarter!

[Flatfingers]

I thnk this is the second time I recent days that an Official Person, when asked about some game design decision that's likely to cause visible conflicts with canon, has basically said that fans should "just roleplay it."

What a fascinating concept. :) Does Cryptic intend to apply this consistently, I wonder...?

Klingons don't have equivalent content? Just roleplay it!

Ships don't have free 3D flight controls? Just roleplay it!

Ships can't block LOS at will? Just roleplay it!

No use of cover in ground combat? Just roleplay it!

...hey, this really is fun. ;)

A little more seriously, I hope "just roleplay it" will not be the standard response to any/all concerns that a pure gameplay design decision may make the gameworld look less like the pretty well-defined universe of the IP. The IP shouldn't control everything, but it shouldn't be handwaved away every time, either.

All those design choices add up.

--Flatfingers

[ransomwk]

At bare minimum make the skills available for say disruptor enhancement only available to klingons so while a federation captain could technically mount them on his ship their effectiveness would be limited because his officers do not have access to the disrupter weapons skill improvement.

This makes some sense. A Federation weapon officer wouldn't generally have the same proficiency with disruptors as their counterparts in the Klingon and Romulan Empires. Likewise, the Klingons and Romulans wouldn't have the same proficiency with phasers as the Federation. So if the skills for the use of otherwise faction specific weapons were limited in opposing factions, (either by less levels of that skill, or more expensive to train in) they could still be used, and used effectively, but not to the same extent as the devices meant to be used by your faction.

[ransomwk]

I thnk this is the second time I recent days that an Official Person, when asked about some game design decision that's likely to cause visible conflicts with canon, has basically said that fans should "just roleplay it."

You could RP that he said "it's not a sim, it's a game". lol

[Flatfingers]

You could RP that he said "it's not a sim, it's a game". lol

:D

Touché!

[Acyl]

You don't have to equip disruptors on your starship. However, should you want to for some reason, and you manage to find them, we want you to be able to.

I think this is fine. It's not like every Starfleet ship will be cruising around with disruptors.

StormShade is kinda implying...we'll have to go through some effort to get disruptors on a Starfleet vessel. Salvage them from a Klingon wreck. Purchase them on a black market. I dunno. Something.

It's not like they'll be standard issue.

If Cryptic balances the game right, and doesn't give some...overwhelming advantage to using disruptors (or vice versa, for using phasers)... we'll still see most ships using the 'correct' weaponry for their sides.

So yeah. Sure. Okay. Whatever.

[Tamgros]

Ships don't have free 3D flight controls? Just roleplay it!

Ships can't block LOS at will? Just roleplay it!

No use of cover in ground combat? Just roleplay it!

--Flatfingers

I see where you are going with your post, but you didn't pick the best examples. They do have 3D, classifying it as not 'free' is really not a defined term... What they don't have is neutonian physics movement and full 3D axis/orientation changes. But you could easily argue taht they have free 3D flight.

I could make a game that you just stay at one point, and twist around on any axis as you please. That would be a 0D game... That's the type of movement you and others are complaining about not having, not the 3D component. Ok, I'll stop with the mostly semantics argument.


This other two are in. Ships can block LOS (confirmed by Gozer), and there will be cover on the ground (confirmed by anyone who has played the game). I'd prefer they put in a system to add benefits to standing in a 'concealed' position. So if you were looking around a corner you could fire fully, but you'd receive a damage reduction. But still, they do have use of cover...

[overlordthor]

This other two are in. Ships can block LOS (confirmed by Gozer), and there will be cover on the ground (confirmed by anyone who has played the game). I'd prefer they put in a system to add benefits to standing in a 'concealed' position. So if you were looking around a corner you could fire fully, but you'd receive a damage reduction. But still, they do have use of cover...

I thought it was confirmed that ships did not block LOS weapons? could you give me a link to something saying otherwise?

I know there is some cover to stand behind, but I think some peoples idea of it is being behind a table or whatever, a obstruction, and firing over the top of it or around it, while keeping real benefits of cover, and shooting.

[CandymanCD]

Like a Romulan cloaking device in the Defiant or Borg modifications to Voyager?

There were plenty of plot spins on faction specific technology in Trek. If a player wishes to put disruptors on his ship for any reason, RP or otherwise, that fits just fine to me.



Ya know, I could swear I remember an entire feature length film where Kirk not only had disruptors, but an entire stolen Klingon battleship.


Could just be me though...

[Flatfingers]

I see where you are going with your post, but you didn't pick the best examples.

Probably not, but then I wasn't being entirely serious. Just poking a bit of relatively gentle fun at the possibility that the concerns of the gamers focused on rules-based play, like the canon concerns expressed by Star Trek fans, will be addressed by telling them to "just roleplay it."

...no, I don't really see that happening, either. :p

--Flatfingers

[Tain]

Ya know, I could swear I remember an entire feature length film where Kirk not only had disruptors, but an entire stolen Klingon battleship.


Could just be me though...

He was also not in starfleet at the time and would have been brought up on charges with the rest of his crew for stealing and destroying a federation starship if he hadn't dropped whales on them.

[mistharm]

I personally don't see the problem.

Unless the weapons are unbalanced in some fashion, most people will just stick with what's easier to acquire. Disruptors on a Federation ship is, as I see, most likely to be used by those explicitly following RP scenarios like Stormshade mentioned.


Roleplay is in my mind, a very valid reason for unusual things. After all - I don' think any of us are imagining ourselves being "just another captain". We're not just any Starfleet officer... We're the Kirks, Picards, Janeways and Siskos of our time. Yes, it does feel weird when you pull it back and note that /everyone/ is "The Hero (TM)" - but that's kinda how MMO stories go; for a lot of very good and practical reasons.

All of the above means one-off modifications, billion-to-one odds, and unusual occurrences become par for the course.

I mean for crying out loud, one of the Pre-Order bonuses is a Borg bridge officer! You can't tell me that having a Borg on your bridge is in any way MORE plausible than a Federation ship loaded up with disruptors. Seven of Nine and Hugh* were not exactly common occurrences ya know? Disruptors as an odd-modification seem trivial in comparison.

We also don't know how the timeline ends yet - it could be that by 2409 the Federation has eased some restrictions to allow captains to make relatively free use of modular construction as it means that they'll be able to salvage things from Klingon ships - thus easing a resource burden on the Federation as a whole.

---

Another thing I was thinking of as I wrote this:

Theoretically, since I have access to Mirror Universe uniforms - it's even feasible I could RP my ship as being from the Mirror Universe and unable to get back. Surely that alone would make more 'aggressive' modifications understandable. It'd also lead to an interesting tension - maybe you work with the Federation (who is clearly aware of the Mirror Universe by now) - but always as something of an outsider.

Not a route I'd personally go down; but I think it's got potential for some folks.

---

Long story short: Roleplay is a perfectly good answer for in-universe questions like "Why does X ship have Y weapon". In my years of tabletop gaming I've never seen a game where the point was to roleplay the "normal" day to day occurances of a given universe after all.


*Who really doesn't count in the long run at all. I don't remember the episode particularly well, but I know by the end of it Hugh was gone and started up a free-collective; and I don't recall if he even worked on the bridge. He's the only other "friendly" Borg I can remember though.

[majicebe]

One of things we're really big on here at Cryptic is player customization. You can see that in all of our games. The Costume Creator in the "City of" games is still widely considered one of the best character creators out there. The Costume Creator in Champions Online is even considered a step a up from that.

You all have seen what's possible in STO's character creator. Complete customization of your characters uniform, looks, what race they are, even the ability to make your own custom alien race to live in the Star Trek Universe.

We've talked about ship customization in the past as well. You already know that you'll be able to change the "look" of your starship.

To us, it only makes sense to allow this for your equipment as well. I know not all of you are role players, but think of the possibilities this opens up for you if were to be role playing. What if you were playing the part of a renegade Star Fleet Officer who has a vendetta against the Klingons? Or maybe you're playing as a member of Section 21. Maybe, you just think it's cool to be flying a Defiant with disruptors.

All this is doing is creating more opportunity for customization in your play style. You don't have to equip disruptors on your starship. However, should you want to for some reason, and you manage to find them, we want you to be able to.

Thanks,

Stormshade

That is just straight-up awesome. I guess I didn't expect an answer like that -- I was thinking more along the lines of, "that's just for testing" or something. More customization ftw!

P.S. Section 31 ;)

[ransomwk]

The points made here are all well and good, but i swear, if it gets to a point where every fed ship is sporting all disruptors and no phasers at all I'm going to nerd rage all over this place. :D:D

[Tanktreads]

In times of war it has been a LONG standing tradition for military commanders to do pretty much anything they wanted. Rommel used anti air guns to destroy tanks, American Torpedo boats had to fight the Navy by sneaking in at night and modify their torpedoes as so that they would work properly, American Subs in the Cold war had all sorts of listening equipment that they should not have had.

So if in times of war a little reality sneaks into the fray of STO so be it. :)

[ransomwk]

Rommel used anti air guns to destroy tanks

The main thing that makes a gun an "anti-aircraft" gun is the ammunition. They used different types of ammo in their 88s based on what they were shooting at. If they wanted to shoot at bombers they'd load flak shells, if they wanted to shoot at tanks they load armor piercing rounds. Changing the nature of the round in the chamber changes what the gun is good at killing.

American Torpedo boats had to fight the Navy by sneaking in at night and modify their torpedoes as so that they would work properly

Never heard of this specifically, but I have read about problems with torpedoes early in the war. It's common practice to only pay for an army when there's a war to be fought. This is great for peace time when that money can be put toward making the country worth defending, but it tends to make the armed forces ill-equipped when if comes time to do the defending. Starfleet however has been at war with the Dominion recently, and now with the Klingons, so the Federation never really had much time to get back into a peacetime state of mind. As such, they should not be having any such problems at the time the game launches.

American Subs in the Cold war had all sorts of listening equipment that they should not have had.

That's the CIA for you. They liked to use the Navy to spy on the Soviet Union. It's a spy's job to hear things they're not supposed to hear, have things they're not supposed to have, and go places they're not supposed to be.




In general, I would expect a greater cost to operating a disruptor on a Federation ship. Since Starfleet has developed the phaser, and has built an entire logistical structure around producing and supporting the phaser, it should be far easier to obtain a phaser than a disruptor. Starfleet simply hasn't dedicated near the level of attention and resources to manufacturing whole units, spare parts, and training personnel on the use of disruptors as compared to phasers.

They may be used situationally, but would be expensive and ungainly if used continuously. At least from a logistical stand point. Whether or not this game is deep enough to reflect this remains to be seen.

[CandymanCD]

He was also not in starfleet at the time and would have been brought up on charges with the rest of his crew for stealing and destroying a federation starship if he hadn't dropped whales on them.



Go ahead and tell me what his 'punishment' was ;-)

[MorganL4]

i wouldn't be too concerned, i remember that, and it seemed more like a slip of the tongue to me, Feds have used phasers since episode 2 of TOS ( in the pilot they were called lazers) and if im gonna guess they will continue to use them until some crazed senator tricks a nine year old boy.....oh wait wrong mmo, where was i, will use phasers until the end of time.

[Acyl]

In general, I would expect a greater cost to operating a disruptor on a Federation ship. Since Starfleet has developed the phaser, and has built an entire logistical structure around producing and supporting the phaser, it should be far easier to obtain a phaser than a disruptor. Starfleet simply hasn't dedicated near the level of attention and resources to manufacturing whole units, spare parts, and training personnel on the use of disruptors as compared to phasers.

They may be used situationally, but would be expensive and ungainly if used continuously. At least from a logistical stand point. Whether or not this game is deep enough to reflect this remains to be seen.

I really doubt there'll be higher upkeep cost attached to using 'the wrong weapons' for your faction. I mean, STO's a game, not a space sim - we know this. Complex upkeep costs is another layer of micromanagement that isn't 'fun' for many.

Also, with replicators and genius engineers aboard our ships, would maintaining 'non-standard' weaponry be that hard? Really? Engineering in Star Trek is often a matter of waving hands and scattering miracle pixie dust. :)

I do expect it'll be difficult to find disruptors on the Federation side - which is entirely fair. Stormshade suggested as much when he posted here...Feds can use disruptors, if they can find them.

[warbot7777]

I want Borg weapons.

[Rivaris]

i render there will be captains with non faction weapons on there ship.

i mean i reder there will be players and npcs that will sell weapons to the other side for a profit.

i wouldnt be surprised of you could pick up some non faction weapons for the right ammount of latinum.

[LtPowers]

You all have seen what's possible in STO's character creator. Complete customization of your characters uniform, looks, what race they are, even the ability to make your own custom alien race to live in the Star Trek Universe.

Yes, everything except the ability to customize the role your character plays on board his ship.


I know not all of you are role players, but think of the possibilities this opens up for you if were to be role playing.

...

You don't have to equip disruptors on your starship. However, should you want to for some reason, and you manage to find them, we want you to be able to.

Please apply this same philosophy to player crews. "You don't have to use player crew members on your starship. However, .... we want you to be able to." Think of the possibilities that would open up for roleplaying.


Powers &8^]

[Acyl]

Please apply this same philosophy to player crews. "You don't have to use player crew members on your starship. However, .... we want you to be able to." Think of the possibilities that would open up for roleplaying.

It's not really comparable.

Allowing Federation players to equip disruptors and allowing Klingons to equip phasers is easy. The question there is...should we restrict folks? And their answer was, nah, leave it open.

Giving us player crews (or the option to have 'em) would require a massive amount of additional work and new game systems. It's not a question of simply permitting us to have player crews - the structure to support it does not exist. It'd have to be created.

Seriously, you can't compare the two things.

[prem0nition]

One possible idea to get round the supposed canon breach of using non-faction equipment would be to treat them as consumables. It seems correct to me (and fits in with the canon) that your engineers wouldn't be able to fully maintain equipment not of your faction, due to not knowing how the technology works in intimate detail, the difficulty in getting replacement parts etc...

You still give up the slot to equip the item, but it has a limited amount of uses before it breaks and needs replacing. As an example, a Federation ship loots a Romulan cloaking device. The Federation player loses a weapon (or perhaps a science) slot to fit the cloak, and the player can now cloak the ship say, 30 times before the cloak breaks down and no longer functions.

While I would be happy with the system being proposed, I think that my idea would be a better compromise between canon and enjoyable game mechanics.

[Desterion]

feds shouldn't be able to cloak, period. there is more than enough incentive for people to play there already.

[Cpt.Power]

I can life with this.
Puls phasers od disruptors, nearly the same ;)

[Commander_Nate]

I don't see what the big deal is, if you find another faction's weapons, you should be able to keep and use them if you want. This has happened many times in the shows and happens all the time in real life.

Even today in Iraq or Afghanistan, the US military has picked up and used the enemy's own weapons when they were running low on ammo or whatnot. Similar things happened in Vietnam and WWII.

I'm going to be really PO'd if I raid some Klingon or Jem Hedar base, find some disruptors or polaron rifles, and get some message saying "This item is (insert faction or race here) specific and cannot be looted by Federation players".

Furthermore, if I'm paying $15 a month to play, I should be able to use whatever I find or acquire during my travels. The only exception should be level/skill requirements, which I could reach by playing more.

And this is coming from a pretty big Trek fan.

[Tanktreads]

How about set bonuses? if your faction traditionally has one or another tech ( ie the federation with phasers) then you get a set bonus when using fed tech on a fed ship with a fed crew. So if you want to use what non traditionally federation technology then it better be more powerful than the phaser banks and that set bonus.

This would make cloaks more apt to be seen but not standard on every player's ship, it would allow the customization that you would see in war time but still have the rarity that in general people would tend to stay on cannon for their load outs.

[ransomwk]

One possible idea to get round the supposed canon breach of using non-faction equipment would be to treat them as consumables. It seems correct to me (and fits in with the canon) that your engineers wouldn't be able to fully maintain equipment not of your faction, due to not knowing how the technology works in intimate detail, the difficulty in getting replacement parts etc...

Given that cross faction equipment would mostly be black market, and therefore "less than top of the line", this makes perfect sense. A weapon purchased from such a source would tend to be unreliable and prone to breaking. There's also the fact that different factions use different power systems. Plugging a disruptor straight into a federation starship's power system would be like plugging an American appliance directly into a British power outlet. Assuming you could get the plug to fit, the higher voltage would fry the appliance.

The power flowing through a Klingon ship isn't the same as the power in a Starfleet ship. The components would require adapters just to physically fit, and power filters in order to operate. Even a small, low grade disruptor would take up more volume on a Starfleet ship than on a Klingon ship, the output would probably be a bit less as well. Thus, a disruptor on a Federation starship would be more expensive and take up more space than it would on a Klingon ship.


I really doubt there'll be higher upkeep cost attached to using 'the wrong weapons' for your faction. I mean, STO's a game, not a space sim - we know this. Complex upkeep costs is another layer of micromanagement that isn't 'fun' for many.

That's a cop out. "It's not a sim" is not an excuse to cut corners, forgo details, or make a shallow game. Micromanagement may not be "fun" for many, but it is "fun" for many others.

[ransomwk]

I don't see what the big deal is, if you find another faction's weapons, you should be able to keep and use them if you want. This has happened many times in the shows and happens all the time in real life.

Even today in Iraq or Afghanistan, the US military has picked up and used the enemy's own weapons when they were running low on ammo or whatnot. Similar things happened in Vietnam and WWII.

Still not the best example. A soldier in Iraq or Afghanistan might pick up an AK-47 if they run out of ammo for their M-16, but that soldier isn't going to keep that AK-47 as their standard weapon. Once their patrol is over and they're back at their base, that AK-47 will be turned in for destruction.

[Commander_Nate]

Still not the best example. A soldier in Iraq or Afghanistan might pick up an AK-47 if they run out of ammo for their M-16, but that soldier isn't going to keep that AK-47 as their standard weapon. Once their patrol is over and they're back at their base, that AK-47 will be turned in for destruction.

In Vietnam, it was somewhat common for soldiers to actually keep and use an AK-47 and the ammo for it over their early M-16s because they were better suited to the environment.

Many special forces units and even most regular infantry units (at least in the Marines) are trained in the use and maintenance of "threat weapons" and will sometimes use them for operations. The same could easily apply to Starfleet or other future militaries.

My point is that it should be doable in game if you have the desire and skills.

How about set bonuses? if your faction traditionally has one or another tech ( ie the federation with phasers) then you get a set bonus when using fed tech on a fed ship with a fed crew. So if you want to use what non traditionally federation technology then it better be more powerful than the phaser banks and that set bonus.

This would make cloaks more apt to be seen but not standard on every player's ship, it would allow the customization that you would see in war time but still have the rarity that in general people would tend to stay on cannon for their load outs.

This is a sensible idea for the scenario. Perhaps they could have a trainable skill for you and your tactical BOs in the use of non-faction weapons, which would eventually reduce the debuffs to zero once you increased the skill to its max. Engineering players could have a non-faction equipment skill, science players could have a non-faction technology skill or something similar.

[overlordthor]

How about set bonuses? if your faction traditionally has one or another tech ( ie the federation with phasers) then you get a set bonus when using fed tech on a fed ship with a fed crew. So if you want to use what non traditionally federation technology then it better be more powerful than the phaser banks and that set bonus.

This would make cloaks more apt to be seen but not standard on every player's ship, it would allow the customization that you would see in war time but still have the rarity that in general people would tend to stay on cannon for their load outs.

There's also the fact that different factions use different power systems. Plugging a disruptor straight into a federation starship's power system would be like plugging an American appliance directly into a British power outlet. Assuming you could get the plug to fit, the higher voltage would fry the appliance.

The power flowing through a Klingon ship isn't the same as the power in a Starfleet ship. The components would require adapters just to physically fit, and power filters in order to operate. Even a small, low grade disruptor would take up more volume on a Starfleet ship than on a Klingon ship, the output would probably be a bit less as well. Thus, a disruptor on a Federation starship would be more expensive and take up more space than it would on a Klingon ship.

Agreed on the power point, you obviously just cant loot a item and equip it to your ship, it has to be rebuiilt to work with your ships power distribution systems, energy is very different, the efficiency would obviously drop.

The connection wouldn't be perfect. nor would the crew be as skilled at working with Klingon Technology, as a Klingon crew would.

Recall the Isokinetic canon that was on Voyager when they were trading for it. It would have been a nice new energy weapon for the ship, excellent at penetrating Hirogen ships hulls which had proven resistant to their weapons. They specifically mentioned how it was good against that material that the Hirogen hulls were made of. Anyway, the weapon was mounted on voyager for the test firing, but it hadnt been integrated into Voyager's power systems(drawing power from a small source?), and afterward, they didnt ever use it so its likely they didnt have it, or werent able to integrate it

Also recall in Voyager when tuvok acquired a item that might have been able to transport voyager back home early in their travels, it failed because they could not integrate it into voyagers systems properly.

If you wanted something to function extremelly well on your ship, your people/engineers at a starbase, need to build it up from scratch, or it just wont fit in properly, it'll take up extra space, and/or have problems with the energy it draws and efficiency.

Still not the best example. A soldier in Iraq or Afghanistan might pick up an AK-47 if they run out of ammo for their M-16, but that soldier isn't going to keep that AK-47 as their standard weapon. Once their patrol is over and they're back at their base, that AK-47 will be turned in for destruction.

True, but its also about the fact that the federation phasers dont "run out of ammo", so you dont need to mount a disruptor on your ship to fire.



However, I can see things being mounted on, as Stormshade got into, we dont have to be normal captains, we can RP as section 31, or as someone with a vendetta against Klingon's similar to how officers joined the Maquis, to fight cardassians. So we may be willing to use a less efficient item if we find one, and except the losses of hte superiority the phaser possesses, in return for some extra damage it may have.

[Acyl]

That's a cop out. "It's not a sim" is not an excuse to cut corners, forgo details, or make a shallow game. Micromanagement may not be "fun" for many, but it is "fun" for many others.

Yes, but the fun of the many outweighs the fun of the few... :)

Nah, I really don't know. We've already got a sliding scale of detail and micromanagement in this game. Stuff like power distribution windows can either be complex, letting you make changes on the fly...or players can just punch the presets and boogie.

But differential equipment upkeep cost? I dunno. You'd have to find a way to make it something actually awesome for those who care about it, but yet something that doesn't cripple and horribly restrain the casual player. And yes, the casual player matters.

Still not the best example. A soldier in Iraq or Afghanistan might pick up an AK-47 if they run out of ammo for their M-16, but that soldier isn't going to keep that AK-47 as their standard weapon. Once their patrol is over and they're back at their base, that AK-47 will be turned in for destruction.

You're right. I think the whole foot soldier analogy is suspect, anyway - we're talking starships. But if we're trying to use that analogy...

When it comes to gear in general...in my experience, there isn't that much respect for standard issue. When I was in Basic, one of the first things my platoon sergeant did was point out a lot of the standard issue gear...gloves, poncho, flashlight, tent pegs, rope, medical stuff...

"This [censored] is all useless, guys. Go get your own."

Of course, there's a big difference between replacing the issue knife with a store-bought one...and deciding that the AK-47 you just looted is more awesome than your M16.

[ransomwk]

In Vietnam, it was somewhat common for soldiers to actually keep and use an AK-47 and the ammo for it over their early M-16s because they were better suited to the environment.

Many special forces units and even most regular infantry units (at least in the Marines) are trained in the use and maintenance of "threat weapons" and will sometimes use them for operations. The same could easily apply to Starfleet or other future militaries.

My point is that it should be doable in game if you have the desire and skills.



That's all well and good, and folks in the US military are trained in opposing weapons. I'm Air Force and I'll be getting trained in them soon. I'm not likely to ever even see these things after my training, but they're going to train me anyway.

My point isn't that it doesn't happen, or that it couldn't, but that there are extra costs associated. A US soldier might prefer using an AK-47, and might carry one when ever possible, but if it breaks, they'd have to cannibalize another one. In contrast, if an M-16 breaks, there are spare parts available. There is a support system in place for the M-16, a soldier with an AK-47 is on their own.

Same thing for Starfleet, they may be trained to use disruptors, they may find a few and use them, but if it breaks.....back to the phaser. That or cannibalize another disruptor, since Starfleet is set up logistically to support the phaser, not the disruptor. Starfleet using a disruptor may be operationally viable, situationally preferred, but logistically it's backward and nothing but problems.



(I do logistics for the Air Force, hence my line of thinking)

[Acyl]

However, I can see things being mounted on, as Stormshade got into, we dont have to be normal captains, we can RP as section 31, or as someone with a vendetta against Klingon's similar to how officers joined the Maquis, to fight cardassians. So we may be willing to use a less efficient item if we find one, and except the losses of using all of your superiority the phaser possesses, in return for some extra damage it may have.

In one of William Shatner's novels, where Captain Kirk is truly the GREATEST HERO TO EVER LIVE...

He does indeed have disruptors on the original Enterprise. Pew Pew Pew!\

Because, y'know, Kirk is so awesome little things like incompatable hardware and power systems do not present problems. He can talk computers into submission.

[ransomwk]

But differential equipment upkeep cost? I dunno. You'd have to find a way to make it something actually awesome for those who care about it, but yet something that doesn't cripple and horribly restrain the casual player. And yes, the casual player matters.


K.I.S.S.
Make an upkeep cost for cross faction equipment only. A starship is supposed to be able to operate independently or long periods of time, so it should have the tools to maintain the issue equipment, and modify it to fit the environment. So a phaser on a Federation starship shouldn't come with any extra cost of ownership.

[Commander_Nate]

That's all well and good, and folks in the US military are trained in opposing weapons. I'm Air Force and I'll be getting trained in them soon. I'm not likely to ever even see these things after my training, but they're going to train me anyway.

My point isn't that it doesn't happen, or that it couldn't, but that there are extra costs associated. A US soldier might prefer using an AK-47, and might carry one when ever possible, but if it breaks, they'd have to cannibalize another one. In contrast, if an M-16 breaks, there are spare parts available. There is a support system in place for the M-16, a soldier with an AK-47 is on their own.

Same thing for Starfleet, they may be trained to use disruptors, they may find a few and use them, but if it breaks.....back to the phaser. That or cannibalize another disruptor, since Starfleet is set up logistically to support the phaser, not the disruptor. Starfleet using a disruptor may be operationally viable, situationally preferred, but logistically it's backward and nothing but problems.



(I do logistics for the Air Force, hence my line of thinking)

Well that's why I was backing an idea where non-faction item use would be a trainable skill. If you want to get better at using and maintaining them, you'd need to invest some playtime. Seems like a fair tradeoff.

[LtPowers]

Giving us player crews (or the option to have 'em) would require a massive amount of additional work and new game systems. It's not a question of simply permitting us to have player crews - the structure to support it does not exist. It'd have to be created.

New game systems would not have been required if they'd implemented it the right way from the start. I totally get that they didn't want to spend time up-front on making engaging mini-games or whatever other gameplay they feel is necessary for those senior staff roles. But they've never explained why they totally cut off even the remote possibility of letting players travel together on the same ship.

All I want to do is be able to travel on someone else's ship, take orders, and submit my reports. Everything else can be roleplayed, but not without that basic ability. And it wouldn't have required a "massive amount of additional work" or any "new game systems".


Powers &8^]

[Commander_Nate]

New game systems would not have been required if they'd implemented it the right way from the start. I totally get that they didn't want to spend time up-front on making engaging mini-games or whatever other gameplay they feel is necessary for those senior staff roles. But they've never explained why they totally cut off even the remote possibility of letting players travel together on the same ship.

All I want to do is be able to travel on someone else's ship, take orders, and submit my reports. Everything else can be roleplayed, but not without that basic ability. And it wouldn't have required a "massive amount of additional work" or any "new game systems".


Powers &8^]

No offense, but that sounds really boring to me and probably 95% of other gamers out there.

They would have to make new systems for this to work and be any sort of fun. There'd have to be a working tactical, engineering, and science consoles, a working con, working transporter controls, and so on. This is much more in depth than having a key assigned to each function.

[overlordthor]

No offense, but that sounds really boring to me and probably 95% of other gamers out there.

They would have to make new systems for this to work and be any sort of fun. There'd have to be a working tactical, engineering, and science consoles, a working con, working transporter controls, and so on. This is much more in depth than having a key assigned to each function.

Agreed, I'd hate to be the doctor on some ship playing an "operation" mini-game, or a officer looking over sensor readings and interpreting them. They sound boring, I'll just go buy the classic operation game, you know, the one where the buzzer goes off if you touch the sides...

This game, is about playing as a Captain and controlling all aspects of your ship, as a whole, with 1 player.

Other people who want to be a doctor, you might bee able to have different game.

Anyway, back on the topic, ok, I can now understand it being possible to get alternative systems like the disruptor, in place of your phasers or whatever. I think it should definetly be a tradeoff thing, and not as efficient as your phasers, unless the disruptor is manufactured with your ship/starfleet in mind. (Or a Klingon ship acquiring a phaser...). Also trading off and not being able to take advantage of certain skills, in return for more damage or something else.

[Powerhelm]

As long as I can set the color to standard Federation or Standard other faction or just any random color I'm fine with it too...I just like to match :p

[Deltaop]

I don't see what the big deal is, if you find another faction's weapons, you should be able to keep and use them if you want. This has happened many times in the shows and happens all the time in real life.



I've got no argument there.

In fact i support the idea of being able to swap out other races equipment in ground missions and stuff.
However the races should be balanced tech wise so that even if i find a type2 disruptor on the ground, if im already carring a type2 phaser i should have no need for the disruptor.

However what i dont support is making everything interchangable on the ships side,

How often did we see klingons refiting their ships with quantums or even federation refitting with disruptors, never. And even if they did it was usually only a one off , with the exception of the defiants cloak.

sure you should be able to find and install new tech, weapons and components to refit your ship but there needs to be some items that are exclusives to that race. Such as phasers and quantums for federation, and disruptors + cloak for klingon / romulan.

these race exclusive items and abilites would give them their uniqueness.

On top of that custom weapons for example say i find a breen torpedo launcher or borg cutting beam, they need to have either have their race equivelant available in terms of DPS or be balanced with other weapons.

I dont want STO to be like other MMO's where in order to comp in PVP you have to be outfitting with certain drops or unique items.

Because that would suck if everyone in PVP for example: has to have custom breen torpedos and borg cutting beams refitted to their ship in order to compete effectively.

Then in PVP instead of watching federation firing phasers and klingons shooting disruptors everyone is firing borg cutting beams.

Then you get people constantly running that instance where the drop occurs constantly trying to get that item and then selling it and stuff.

This is where too much customization is a bad thing.

[Eclipse1987]

No offense, but that sounds really boring to me and probably 95% of other gamers out there.

They would have to make new systems for this to work and be any sort of fun. There'd have to be a working tactical, engineering, and science consoles, a working con, working transporter controls, and so on. This is much more in depth than having a key assigned to each function.

This

I'd quit that game before the tutorial finished...

B.O.T

I know I said I liked the idea of weapon swapping, and I still do, I just want to add in the one provision....

NO fed cloaks!

that is all, thank you. :D