Federation Players For Klingon Development

[ByYourCommand]

I know that the Federation are the "heroes" of the Star Trek series, and I know there are probably going to be more Starfleet players than Klingon ones, but even speaking as someone who intents to be on the Fed side in-game, the TOTAL lack of Klingon development is ridiculous.

For starters, look at the Ships of the Line (http://www.startrekonline.com/ships) page. There's a grand total of two Klingon ships listed against forty Starfleet ships (which are already laid out in tiers, no less). Where are the Birds of Prey, the D-7s, the Vor'Chas or the Negh'Vars? The Ship Overview (http://www.startrekonline.com/ship_overview) only speaks of Starfleet vessels, and player progression (http://www.startrekonline.com/player_progression) doesn't mention Klingon officers at all. What ranks will Klingons progress through? Do they have distinct career paths? What kind of skills will they have? How will their bridge officers function? What ships can they fly?

I appreciate a safe galaxy as much as the next lifeform, but really, at this rate, one faction may as well be unplayable. Short of bored Starfleet captains sparring for fun, PvP will be pointless and deserted, and the much-advertised "state of war" in 2409 between the Federation and the Klingon Empire will be for nothing.

Even as a relative pacifist, I appreciate having rivals who are as capable as I am. When is Cryptic going to answer for the sorry state of their work? They are without honour.

Are there more Federation players out there who are frustrated with this as well?

[LordDave]

November/December is when all that will be shown.

[ByYourCommand]

So why weren't they developed side-by-side?

[Kazzy]

Its part of their PR cycle. The information hasn't been released at the same time

[Arachnidus]

So why weren't they developed side-by-side?

They have been developed side by side. But the Federation and, by extension, Starfleet, are far more recognizable to the series than the Klingons. As you said, the Federation are the "Heroes" of the series. It's a PR thing.

[ByYourCommand]

It's pretty bad PR to look like you're ignoring a faction that's supposed to be 50% of the game.

[LordDave]

So why weren't they developed side-by-side?

Because they only have one team. While klingon content was made "semi-side by side" the Federation side has more content, more stories, more PVE, so they got priority. That and people identify with them more since they are Star Trek.

As for why they aren't in the PR cycle: Information control.

1. You don't show information that can change. Klingons weren't going to be focused on for time restriction reasons so they're being done last meaning much of it isn't even done yet.

2. Never flood the information too early. There is only so much information you have. If they put their entire design document on the forum then that'll keep the buzz for about a month. After that, you have nothing new and the buzz dies. By slowly eeking out information, you get a constant buzz of speculation and posts like this: complaints. It's all publicity.

3. Information overload. We can only deal with so much info at once. We had many threads about the Federation ship tiers. Imagine if the Klingons had their posts about their tiers as well. We'd have WAY too many threads that would get lost.

So... yeah, not a good idea.

[Chenchuan]

3. Information overload. We can only deal with so much info at once. We had many threads about the Federation ship tiers. Imagine if the Klingons had their posts about their tiers as well. We'd have WAY too many threads that would get lost.

So... yeah, not a good idea.

Why do posts matter. This entire board is superfulous now that Beta has started. The real content is now on the actual Beta boards. This section is now just people yammering to hear themselves speak and offers no value for the game delevopment other than people pet wishlists. For all we know the Klingons are already finished. Just reminds me of another Beta where the open board was filled with fanbois whose commenatry had nothing to do with the game the rest of us were playing. Just fantasy and idle speculation.

[ByYourCommand]

It never hurts to at least give players SOME idea of how each faction is going to run. I'm not saying the Klingon info needs to be that detailed at this point -- by all means, let new and interesting details sustain people's interest in the future -- but what you do for one side you should be doing for the other. By the time the game is finally launched, the Klingon faction may be inherently disadvantaged by the fact that Cryptic has alienated them (pardon the pun) for so long.

I'm just saying, even as much as I appreciate the detail being put into my chosen side, the other 50% of the game is being left in the dark. It doesn't hurt to figure out the basic system, as Cryptic has posted on the site for the Federation side, and then work on the specific mechanics later, once one side is done.

[LordDave]

Why do posts matter. This entire board is superfulous now that Beta has started. The real content is now on the actual Beta boards. This section is now just people yammering to hear themselves speak and offers no value for the game delevopment other than people pet wishlists. For all we know the Klingons are already finished. Just reminds me of another Beta where the open board was filled with fanbois whose commenatry had nothing to do with the game the rest of us were playing. Just fantasy and idle speculation.

Posts matter because a post means discussion. Discussion means people. People mean numbers. And numbers mean investors.

Plus, humans of this day and age want hot button, controversial, angry topics. Just look at the major news networks. They cater to the average person. They make sure not to omit anything offensive, out of place, or angry. Just to pick an example out of semi-recent news: When a US senator yelled "you lie" during Obama's speech to congress, that got national news. It got national news ONLY BECAUSE the American people would be polarized by it. They want to read up on who said what, why they said it, what the other side said, and what their side is saying after. It's controversy and we eat it up. In 1950, that would never have made it to headlines. Hell, FDR was never photographed in a wheelchair by the press because that wasn't tasteful. Now, they'd have his picture plastered across the news if he ever fell out and we'd love it.

So: Hot button issue with lots of heated arguing means more people will join the fray. More people means more number and more numbers is what investors want to see. They really don't care why they're here, just that they are.

[LordDave]

It never hurts to at least give players SOME idea of how each faction is going to run. I'm not saying the Klingon info needs to be that detailed at this point -- by all means, let new and interesting details sustain people's interest in the future -- but what you do for one side you should be doing for the other. By the time the game is finally launched, the Klingon faction may be inherently disadvantaged by the fact that Cryptic has alienated them (pardon the pun) for so long.

I'm just saying, even as much as I appreciate the detail being put into my chosen side, the other 50% of the game is being left in the dark. It doesn't hurt to figure out the basic system, as Cryptic has posted on the site for the Federation side, and then work on the specific mechanics later, once one side is done.

Err...
Klingons are only 25% of the game.

And we know how they'll work: Similar to the Federation side only instead of long epic stories, we'll have PVP. Instead of exploration we'll have PVP. And both will have normal PVP.

See? Explained.

[Jaxston]

Just say NO......we're at war with them we can't help them ... duh.

:D

[ByYourCommand]

So the Klingons are just a faction for people who want to PvP? I have a hard time contemplating that.

Even Klingons trade, explore, and engage in diplomacy. They're a separate faction -- for the game to be in any way "fair" they need to be just as viable an option as the Federation. That means "quests" and "tasks" and being able to PvE and explore. If the Klingons are just about PvP, and only PvP, then Cryptic has a lot of explaining to do.


"Tickle us, do we not laugh? ***** us, do we not bleed? Wrong us, shall we not revenge?" -- Gen. Chang

[Wireman]

It's pretty bad PR to look like you're ignoring a faction that's supposed to be 50% of the game.



There's no way we're 50% of the game.

[Wireman]

So the Klingons are just a faction for people who want to PvP? I have a hard time contemplating that.

Even Klingons trade, explore, and engage in diplomacy. They're a separate faction -- for the game to be in any way "fair" they need to be just as viable an option as the Federation. That means "quests" and "tasks" and being able to PvE and explore. If the Klingons are just about PvP, and only PvP, then Cryptic has a lot of explaining to do.



Why would we?


We don't need to be cookie cutter same as federation style faction. We can be completely different and play completely different than the feds. That gives the game more flavor and a much broader play experience.

I for one am glad I don't have to explore and get to do some in house fighting with the Empire.

[ByYourCommand]

I'm not saying you should be the "same" as the Federation, only that you should have the same depth of play options as the other side. Factions need to be equal, otherwise one will just dominate and it will become boring for the side that didn't get the attention in development.

If there are 40 Starfleet ships, there should be 40 Klingon ships.

If Fed players can PvE, Klingon players should also. Same goes for having "missions" and "tasks" -- even as the Fed players may have more peaceful missions than Klingons, the option should be there.

If Fed players can engage in trade, so should Klingons.

If Fed players have ranks and can build up bridge officers, so should Klingons.

War or peace, PvE or PvP, the play options need to be there.

[discopunk1118]

I believe that this game will art with the non communication between two factions that WoW has...remember there is going to be a mix of factions since the Romulans are coming out in an expansion.

[Wireman]

I'm not saying you should be the "same" as the Federation, only that you should have the same depth of play options as the other side. Factions need to be equal, otherwise one will just dominate and it will become boring for the side that didn't get the attention in development.



Just because we don't explore doesn't mean we don't have depth. You have no idea how the PvP and House faction conflict will work out.

We very well might be going out and exploring anyways and looking for people to conquer. I'm not sure where the notion that the Klingons won't have any depth is coming from. Because the ships aren't all released right now?

The act of releasing an MMO is to also generate buzz, and that's keeping the name up on websites and news sites when you release new information about the game.

If Cryptic went out and released all the information they have, the game would be headlines for one week or even a few days then totally disappear since nothing new was being released to the sites.

They do this to keep people interested and coming back to learn more as the trickle of information keeps being put out.

[Jaqknife]

Well since no one can start as a Klingon and you have to "unlock" your Klingon character slot after several hours of play the game will be pretty much one sided until then.

[ByYourCommand]

Like I said before, start with the more basic info and work up to more detailed info over time. There's nothing -- absolutely nothing -- stopping Cryptic from providing the same level of detail on Klingons as on the Federation. Yet they haven't, and it's giving the impression that they're ignoring half of the game.

Not all Klingons seek to conquer everything they see, just as not all Fed players are complete pansies.

[Wireman]

Like I said before, start with the more basic info and work up to more detailed info over time. There's nothing -- absolutely nothing -- stopping Cryptic from providing the same level of detail on Klingons as on the Federation. Yet they haven't, and it's giving the impression that they're ignoring half of the game.

Not all Klingons seek to conquer everything they see, just as not all Fed players are complete pansies.



Those Klingons that don't attempt to conquer everything they see are summarily put to death.



"There's nothing -- absolutely nothing -- stopping Cryptic from providing the same level of detail on Klingons as on the Federation."


Yes there is. It's a PR move to keep the game in the headlines.

[scottmana]

I think one thing to keep in mind is that Cryptic knows they need to make both sides. But if you have a artist/writer and his job is to write stories for Federation episodes and he keeps getting Klingon stories that break his chain of thought on the Federation then it's allot harder to keep the content unique because you keep blurring the two together for the poor guy.

I would say that Cryptic put out a basic plan for the Klingons and had a team building the basics. Yet all this means is that somewhere is a pile of notes and sticky tabs. Once the Federation is basically in the game the team then movies on to the Klingons and it keeps the confusion of making the zillions of little things that will go in the game much more manageable.

People saying the Klingons are underdeveloped at this time are probably right. Yet adding that Cryptic is really going to forget about them and release the game that way is no fact, it is an over excitable fan's opinion.

Rather then saying Cryptic is neglecting the Klingons over the federation you should be saying "I DEMAND you over develop the Klingons! Whatever you give the federation, I DEMAND you double it for the Klingons when you get around to them!" Who knows, you might even sound like a Klingon while doing it.

[Corehaven22]

Ive always believed that Cryptic is short on manpower and time. They just couldnt get the Klingon side of the game done in time. They may have focused too much on the Fed side of the game.

Months ago, they were simply saying there would be two sides to the game. Klingon and Federation. They never said one side would be more pvp centric until recently and that the Klingon side would have less or no episodic content (pve).

Cryptic dropped the ball. I would bet any amount of money that after release the first thing that they start working on is the Klingon side of the game. Mark my words. Why? Cause it wont be nearly finished or fleshed out when it releases.

[ByYourCommand]

Those Klingons that don't attempt to conquer everything they see are summarily put to death.

Okay, so explain the following:

Martok treated the Federation and Romulans (!) as friends and allies.

Gorkon and Azetbur made the bold move of forging an allegiance with the Federation, even when half the Empire were after their heads.

Worf willingly served the Federation and was never put to death.

There are Klingon engineers, doctors, diplomats and scientists -- you'd put them all to death just because they choose not to go and fight?


"There's nothing -- absolutely nothing -- stopping Cryptic from providing the same level of detail on Klingons as on the Federation."

Yes there is. It's a PR move to keep the game in the headlines.

Wrong. The closed beta is already out, which means the Klingons are fully playable -- yet we know virtually nothing about how their/your faction works. There was nothing stopping Cryptic from splitting the headlines between the Feds and Klingons. I'm sure some random potential customer, coming on the STO website, would think that the only playable faction is the Feds -- which we all know to be false. I'd be fine with Cryptic providing less detail on the Federation if it meant more info on the Klingons.


Ive always believed that Cryptic is short on manpower and time. They just couldnt get the Klingon side of the game done in time. They may have focused too much on the Fed side of the game.

...

Cryptic dropped the ball. I would bet any amount of money that after release the first thing that they start working on is the Klingon side of the game. Mark my words. Why? Cause it wont be nearly finished or fleshed out when it releases.

Which is precisely what I'm trying to say -- that players deserve a properly developed and fleshed-out game. They've put so much effort into the Fed side that the Klingon side is weak and narrow. They dropped the ball -- and now they'd better go and pick it up again.

[vixen11]

To the average trek fan Fed is going to be more popular. To the average MMO fan I think Klingon will be more popular. Just speculation on my part but if that is the case consider this. If you decide it's best to only release X amount of information at a time then you have to plan ahead as to what info will be release when.

So early on you are going to appeal to trek fans which means you are going to release a lot of information about the Feds. I mean at this point what simi serous trek fan DOESN'T know this game exists? When you get closer to the release date you are probably going to release information that's going to appeal to the broader MMO market thus Klingon cus lets face it they are the more "bad @ss" faction. Trek fans will already be frothing at the mouth in anticipation. Iif Cryptic believes that the Klingon faction will appeal to more of the general public they'll probably save that info till last.

Just my 2 cents

[ByYourCommand]

I'd figure the opposite. Some person in the general public is going to think Star Trek = Federation. Meanwhile, the bigger Star Trek fans are probably going to have more varied goals -- some will want to be Romulans, some will want to play as Cardassians, or Andorians, or Klingons, or Orions, or Ferengi, or so on. Those who know more about Trek are going to know more about the various races as opposed to just humans, and therefore the more serious Trek fan is more likely to branch out into other races.

All I'm saying is that they need balance. High detail on one race/faction does a great disservice to the others. I'd rather have more general info on more factions than a heavy emphasis on one alone.

[Jaqknife]

Like I said before, start with the more basic info and work up to more detailed info over time. There's nothing -- absolutely nothing -- stopping Cryptic from providing the same level of detail on Klingons as on the Federation. Yet they haven't, and it's giving the impression that they're ignoring half of the game.

Not all Klingons seek to conquer everything they see, just as not all Fed players are complete pansies.

I presonally think it is either time constraints OR maybe they just designed it so that when you play as a Klingon for it to be a completely different experience. Maybe it'll be like playing as your Nemesis with advancement capabilities in CO just speculation here on my part but I wouldn't be surprised to see it something like that but with a lot more depth but not as much depth as being in the Federation.

[jeroen84]

A PR (public relations) department of a company always controls the information towards the public. If they bring out everything at once, they cant keep people from coming back to the site to see new stuff.


THe reason why Klingons havent been shown much yet is because in the beginning they want to use the most iconic faction of Star Trek, namely the Federation.

I bet we will see a lot of PvP gameplay and information when information of the Klingons will be released. :)

I will make a Klingon for sure. :)