No one said we want only player crews!

[Stevediaman]

We simply want the option to have player crews, ontop of the NPC "pet" crew system.

Add a few terminals to the bridge, and divide what ever options the captain would have when NPC's are at those terminals.

From there, enhancements could be made depending on how its done (I cant give ideas on a system that we know nothing about yet)

How cool would it be to have a transporter lock as a group invite? You would get a system message saying "The captain of the blablabla has requested you beam to his ship, accept/decline"?

Imagine using the transporter in PVP and even in PVE to raid enemy ships?

The extra players give you that much more freedom in space to do things that just arnt possible w/ NPC's.

Take away missions for example. With the current system, each captain would beam down to the planet and perform their mission. What happens to the ship in orbit? I dont think ive ever seen an episode where nothing happens to the ship. Who is going to be there to defend the ship? the hoards of NPC's at our command? Wheres the fun in that?

Also, In PVP if you want to raid a enemy ship w/ only NPC's who is gonna look after your ship if its more than a 1 on 1 fight? You'll get blown to hell.


The only problem w/ this is the development time.

I hope that cryptic would rethink adding this system to the game prior to launch because i believe it is a much needed system that will greatly increase their player base.

Ide rather see the game delayed 6 months than see it release as it is going now.

Edit** forgot to add that the combination of the systems does not mean that there will be either an all player crew or an all NPC crew, but a combination of the two,

If one of your player friends loses connection, replace him with an NPC, If one of your friends logs on, kick the NPC and let your friend use that terminal.

If your friends get bored, use the holodeck to get some target practice in or some batleth training.

Add conduit and manual ship repair features where players would need to hands on fix the ship.

The potential of a combined system is limitless. A developers resources when creating a combat system that you can immerse yourself in should not be.

[Ziana]

I want player-only crews.

I play an MMO to play with other people, not a bunch of bots.

[Ecoi]

I would rather have a player only crew, but I might be willing to compromise. Have a part bot, part human crew.

[Ghrenn]

I want player-only crews.

I play an MMO to play with other people, not a bunch of bots.

Other people scare me .

<.<

>.>

[Rattletrap]

-Player crews = forced grouping from the sounds of the game thus far.

I am firmly against forced grouping, but if it were only an option (as the original author suggests) then sure. Options are good for games and gameplay if done well.

Here's hoping.....Rattletrap

[Stevediaman]

All i ask for is the option for both, and the evolution of each system to the best that they can be, w/ all of their potential tapped out.

Its a win win for everyone, there is no reason for anyone to complain about it.

[connobi]

Er, won't you be playing with other people? You'll all just have you're own ships. & you'll be able to beam down & co-op on missions & stuff.

I

[Stevediaman]

Er, won't you be playing with other people? You'll all just have you're own ships. & you'll be able to beam down & co-op on missions & stuff.

I

Read the original post please, player crews leads to more single ship oriented scenarions like boarding enemy ships.

Thats one example, you can come up w/ a million of your own.

[Whitefyre]

All i ask for is the option for both, and the evolution of each system to the best that they can be, w/ all of their potential tapped out.

Its a win win for everyone, there is no reason for anyone to complain about it.

Im sure cryptic will come up with a solution to this. I mean in most MMOs with player owned houses can have a co-owner, or guilds having thier co-leader functions. Perhaps you can give up you space shuttle and have your crew be a part of the "general crew" and "bridge crew" and you and your best friend can fly the ship together.

If you specialize in tactics your main role would be to fire the weapons while your buddy (being first in charge) manuevers the ship... this would be quite interesting in pvp and pve gameplay but also interesting in diplomatic missions as well as you can send your buddy down to a planet to solve problems while you monitor from above.

[Nasedo]

will said Jerack
and to tell you the turth.. what i have seen how player could beam on your ship and check it out... i dont think it would take much programing to make it a player control ship...
and them having enigneering and sick bay? for what? for NPC's to fix and repair the ship?

i dont think so... i think are planing on it... they just dont got it done yet... 1 step at a time

[Stevediaman]

Im sure cryptic will come up with a solution to this. I mean in most MMOs with player owned houses can have a co-owner, or guilds having thier co-leader functions. Perhaps you can give up you space shuttle and have your crew be a part of the "general crew" and "bridge crew" and you and your best friend can fly the ship together.

If you specialize in tactics your main role would be to fire the weapons while your buddy (being first in charge) manuevers the ship... this would be quite interesting in pvp and pve gameplay but also interesting in diplomatic missions as well as you can send your buddy down to a planet to solve problems while you monitor from above.

You just made me think of something else....

What the hell happens when all the captains are on the ground?

what if a bunch of people come to blow up ur ship? Oh wait we have highly skilled NPC's to defend it....

Most of the series problems were caused by the away team being stranded on the planet and the enterprise or w/e ship getting into trouble in space...

We want to be a part of the series.... and you cant possible be more a part of it when everything goes wrong.

[Stevediaman]

will said Jerack
and to tell you the turth.. what i have seen how player could beam on your ship and check it out... i dont think it would take much programing to make it a player control ship...
and them having enigneering and sick bay? for what? for NPC's to fix and repair the ship?

i dont think so... i think are planing on it... they just dont got it done yet... 1 step at a time

Thanks for your support, but our biggest problem is the endless forum trolls who are running around trying to poke holes in every good idea they see the slightest flaw in.

[Nasedo]

Thanks for your support, but our biggest problem is the endless forum trolls who are running around trying to poke holes in every good idea they see the slightest flaw in.

i agree with you 100%..

take TNG ...Riker would be sent on a away mission and normal brings worf with him right?
worf leave's his post and go's with riker. and a few moments later another crew member go's over and take's worf's spot..

the point is.. when a player leave's its post , thats when a NPC system kicks in...

the players cant control the ship with NPC's but NPC's are mostly not as good as a real life player...

and what if a player has to leave for the night? who's going to take its spot? a NPC... so i think mixing both of them are a great idea!

[Zizi]

I never said I don't want player crews, either, and neither have many others.

We simply want those who DO want player crews so badly that they post incessantly about it to come up with a useful solution towards having them. that would mean actually having a way to do it in sufficient detail that it could be evaluated and (hopefully) put into practice. Failing that, I'd like to stop hearing about it all over the forums, since that would imply noone cares enough to help make it happen.

[Kristov]

Shhhhh Zizu, don't try to inject logic here, bad things are bound to happen, it's like yelling half price in a ferengi house.

[Zizi]

Shhhhh Zizu, don't try to inject logic here, bad things are bound to happen, it's like yelling half price in a ferengi house.

Try as I might, I'm sad to report that my reluctantly-distant relation to the Vulcans still hold some sway over my superior fusion of emotion and logic. I just can't stop the logic from running wild sometimes! T_T

[Indorill]

i agree with you 100%..

take TNG ...Riker would be sent on a away mission and normal brings worf with him right?
worf leave's his post and go's with riker. and a few moments later another crew member go's over and take's worf's spot..

the point is.. when a player leave's its post , thats when a NPC system kicks in...

the players cant control the ship with NPC's but NPC's are mostly not as good as a real life player...

and what if a player has to leave for the night? who's going to take its spot? a NPC... so i think mixing both of them are a great idea!

The captain may be able to slip out onto a dangerous planet every once in a while in the TNG era, but in wartime it could get you court marshaled. It doesn't make sense for the captain to beam down. Kirk could. Picard could. Sisko wouldn't be caught dead. This is war between two of the strongest powers in the quadrant. Send in Ensign Ricky. Nobody cares if he dies!

That's not to say that the captain couldn't have fun. Stay on the ship and defend the bridge from boarders, fight against a malfunctioning holodeck or a mutated macro-virus. Beam down for peaceful missions. Explore! Let the captain be for the nerd and the security officer for the gamer.

[qmanning]

I want player crews, actually.

The idea of everyone having their own ship may sound interesting, but that really defeats the purpose of an MMO AND the ST Universe.

We sign up, we get assigned to a ship, and through some sort of system we're given an assignment. Maybe it's a test of some sort, maybe it's us choosing 3 positions we like most, and then seeing which one is open. Eitherway, the concept of starting off, playing with friends and going on missions with real people, really trying to solve the problems that happen in the STU is exciting to me.

And maybe one day I can work up to Captain. And maybe I can't. Who knows.

But the concept of us having a ship of our own, with an NPC crew actually lessens my enthusiasm for this game :\

[Stevediaman]

I never said I don't want player crews, either, and neither have many others.

We simply want those who DO want player crews so badly that they post incessantly about it to come up with a useful solution towards having them. that would mean actually having a way to do it in sufficient detail that it could be evaluated and (hopefully) put into practice. Failing that, I'd like to stop hearing about it all over the forums, since that would imply noone cares enough to help make it happen.

What are the downsides to player crews that have not been addressed? the 1 stupid problem where people will have nothing to do?

Thats like saying a level 50 person invited 20 level 80's to do a level 10 quest

If you get more people than you need, thats your fault

You also make it sound like someones gonna put a phaser to your head and make you board my ship.

[TheDart]

What are the downsides to player crews that have not been addressed? the 1 stupid problem where people will have nothing to do?

...wow.

Jerack, I really, truly do want to see player crews and NPC crews both in the game and working. I'd love to have the option to park my rear-end at an operations console and let someone else worry about piloting and firing the phasers. I honestly would.

But... man.

If you're serious about wanting this feature, I implore you to please study programming and game design. I'm not sure you have any idea how mind-bogglingly ridiculous what you just said is, and how horribly it trashes your believability for those of us who have. :confused:

[Zizi]

What are the downsides to player crews that have not been addressed? the 1 stupid problem where people will have nothing to do?

Thats like saying a level 50 person invited 20 level 80's to do a level 10 quest

If you get more people than you need, thats your fault

You also make it sound like someones gonna put a phaser to your head and make you board my ship.

Yes. That is exactly the stupid problem. Because sitting around doing nothing isn't fun, and fun is a key goal of this game.

If your solution is to only have people on the ship that have things to do, you have a problem. Because the only person that will always have something to do is the Helmsman. And even that is questionable once you get where you're going.

If your solution is to set them off to another ship if they have nothing to do, i question the point of player crews in the first place.

If the solution is to have them do things on the ship that have no direct connection to the task being undertaken by the ship as a whole, then again, I question the point of player crews-- This time, because why be on a crew if you're not getting to contribute directly half the time you're there?

So yes, not having enough for everyone to do from minute to minute is the major problem.

[Stevediaman]

...wow.

Jerack, I really, truly do want to see player crews and NPC crews both in the game and working. I'd love to have the option to park my rear-end at an operations console and let someone else worry about piloting and firing the phasers. I honestly would.

But... man.

If you're serious about wanting this feature, I implore you to please study programming and game design. I'm not sure you have any idea how mind-bogglingly ridiculous what you just said is, and how horribly it trashes your believability for those of us who have. :confused:

Thats not my problem, im simply giving out ideas.

Also i know a guy that does alot of coding for many games and he also supports adding a player crew system into this game.

But you know what? I think ill make that my new motto.... Screw a good idea if its too hard.

[Captain-Dyke]

I think having completly player crews would result in a very dry experiance. Apart of me really wanted to have a chief medical officer, chief engineer, a person at the helm and a chief of security who could fire torpedoes with spot on accuracy. But if you think about it, Having player crews in situations like ship to ship combat would not only be difficult to manage, but think of the jobs that actually encompass the crew possitions that these players would need to fill. I for one, dont want to log on with my guild so I can fiddle the joystick and fly a ship. I would also feel like id be wasting time if I were at tactical cause all i would be doing would be shooting and raising the shields. What if my guild wants to explore? Where does that leave the poor chief medical officer who has no one to heal or the transporter chief? Are they to simply man thier stations and wait until someone needs to come or go?

Imagine your at tactical. your job is to fire the torpedos and phasers. Hit the fire button, dispatch damage controll, and open hailing frequencies...oh wait, theres a chat function everyone uses, never mind.

Now imagine your at the helm: Hope you have a joy stick. Your job is to fly the ship, ensign. Jossle the joy stick and type in the quardance and speed? Thats it. Thats what i'm logging on for? Psh, im not paying 10 bucks a month to play wesley crusher.

Now imagine your the first officer: Your job is to give the order to raise the shields, look dashing like riker.\ and Maybe do some science scanning. your effectively useless in a space fight unless the captain "dies"

Now Imagine your the transporter chief. Your job is to do ***** untill someone has to go somewhere. Oh, and when everyones hopping on the pad to board the klingon vessel, your need to stay behind and wait till thier done so you can beam them back at the end of the mission. Hope theres no ship combat tonight. you wont be doing anything.

Imagine your the engineer: Your job is to re-route power when you need to and make sure the engines are working?

So far, all of these things are doable by a single player. Unless the space combat is arcade like (which i doubt because they stated it would be more slow paced) I dont think I would want to log on for a night to be the gunner or to foddle a joystick :eek: .

Finally, imagine your the captain. Its your job to tell all these other players what to do and expect them to obey. Granted there would be hardcore roleplayers who would cling to thier rolls and obey, but do you really want to spend the space combat part of the game telling your crew "Go right! no wait, go up a bit, billy, fire the phazers! oh ! you were too slow! Crap we were hit! Okay ryan! your turn! hit that 're-rout to shields' butten youve been waiting to tap all night long!

everyone is hitting one, 2 buttons at a time every 10 mintutes and only if the captain orders them to do it.

As far as away teams are concerned, they mentioned that players could have a specialty as a captain such as science, archiology and more. Not only that, they mentioned that players could team up as captains instead of beaming down with a bunch of bots. This means that charactor to charactor combat wont necesarally be a bunch of masterminds from COV doing a dungeon crawl.

I personally look forward to customising my crew. I think it will be sweet when i team up with my fellow captains on missions so important that i have the option of taking my first officer along. Besides, the captain is who we all wanted to be anyway. The shows always revolve around that main charactor. Im sorry, as much as i liked Bridge commander and enjoy doing chat sims, I have to say that player crews on ships could result in an over all dull experiance. I didnt log on to sit in sick bay and wait for casualties nor did i log on to play chief of security and only play the boarding aspect of the game. I think cryptic understands that to add to star trek and to expand and make it epic, the player needs to do the really important stuff. Like keep the factions at peace, or at war or take on the borg with a fleet of your friends.

....now being the admiral of a fleet trying to maintain the ORIGINAL values of the federation and taking on captains from ALL the other major factions including the Klingons, Romulans and Dominion....now that sounds like the kind of group i want to manage. I dont wanna spend my gaming session hitting the "scan for life form" buttons while I take orders from "CaptainCrunch888".

[Stevediaman]

Yes. That is exactly the stupid problem. Because sitting around doing nothing isn't fun, and fun is a key goal of this game.

If your solution is to only have people on the ship that have things to do, you have a problem. Because the only person that will always have something to do is the Helmsman. And even that is questionable once you get where you're going.

If your solution is to set them off to another ship if they have nothing to do, i question the point of player crews in the first place.

If the solution is to have them do things on the ship that have no direct connection to the task being undertaken by the ship as a whole, then again, I question the point of player crews-- This time, because why be on a crew if you're not getting to contribute directly half the time you're there?

So yes, not having enough for everyone to do from minute to minute is the major problem.

Who is this everyone in which you speak?

Again how many people are you talking about? 10? 20? im talking maybe 2-5

Do you have any idea how much better a good crew of 5 people will perform in pvp than a crew of 1 person w/ npc's?

Your argument makes no sense because you make it sound like we have no choice but to get half the alpha quadrent into my lil ship, and then find something for them to do.

[Zizi]

Who is this everyone in which you speak?

Again how many people are you talking about? 10? 20? im talking maybe 2-5

Do you have any idea how much better a good crew of 5 people will perform in pvp than a crew of 1 person w/ npc's?

Your argument makes no sense because you make it sound like we have no choice but to get half the alpha quadrent into my lil ship, and then find something for them to do.

Everyone, meaning everyone involved in your hypothetical crew. So those 2-5 people.

My argument makes perfect sense. However many people you want on your crew, whatever positions you want filled, need to have things to do that are pertinent to the ship experience and that do not involve large periods of inactivity, since I think it's safe to say very few people enjoy having nothing to do for lengthy periods. Therefore a major goal is to make sure that whoever we have on a ship at any point of time is having fun doing what they signed up to do.

[Stevediaman]

Everyone, meaning everyone involved in your hypothetical crew. So those 2-5 people.

My argument makes perfect sense. However many people you want on your crew, whatever positions you want filled, need to have things to do that are pertinent to the ship experience and that do not involve large periods of inactivity, since I think it's safe to say very few people enjoy having nothing to do for lengthy periods. Therefore a major goal is to make sure that whoever we have on a ship at any point of time is having fun doing what they signed up to do.

So im guessing you already know every detail about the combat system?

You know for a fact that there will not be enough content for all 2-5 people?

Can you even know for a fact that there will be enough content for the single person in his own ship?

We are waaaaaaay too early into development to answer thtese questions

Maybe you want me to do the developers job too and start making content for the game?

[eiaboca]

I'm glad it's going to mostly be your own ship, with your own crew to control. I wouldn't want to have to always obey orders from someone, slave my way up to captain, deal with fickle players, mutinies. Actually, that last one could be cool, even if it wouldn't really happen on a Star Fleet vessel very often. It would on a Klingon one, though.

Anyway. I would play partially because I like to strategize, I like to figure things out, but I don't always like having to vie for my opinion to be heard. I'm also a fairly casual gamer and wouldn't be able to or want to spend all of my free time attempting to be promoted to having my own ship.

[sixwhirled]

I'm glad it's going to mostly be your own ship, with your own crew to control. I wouldn't want to have to always obey orders from someone, slave my way up to captain, deal with fickle players, mutinies. Actually, that last one could be cool, even if it wouldn't really happen on a Star Fleet vessel very often. It would on a Klingon one, though.

Anyway. I would play partially because I like to strategize, I like to figure things out, but I don't always like having to vie for my opinion to be heard. I'm also a fairly casual gamer and wouldn't be able to or want to spend all of my free time attempting to be promoted to having my own ship.

I agree completely.:)

[Zizi]

So im guessing you already know every detail about the combat system?

You know for a fact that there will not be enough content for all 2-5 people?

Can you even know for a fact that there will be enough content for the single person in his own ship?

We are waaaaaaay too early into development to answer thtese questions

Maybe you want me to do the developers job too and start making content for the game?

Nope, but I know if you want player crews so badly, you'd better come up with an idea for what they're going to be doing.

And sorry, but if you want this done that bad, you're going to HAVE to do the job and design something, or it's not going to happen unless Cryptic has a sudden flash of inspiration. That's just reality. If the guys doing the job can't come up with a solution and noone else does the job of coming up with one, it's not going to happen and you might as well accept what you get.

Cryptic is designing a game for single-person ships. I have faith they can get enough to keep us busy in that scheme. They told us they tried, but could not think of a way to give a PC crew enough to do to be fun all around. If you disagree with that assessment, you need to show them otherwise. If you don't want to, then it'd probably be a good idea to stop asking for something that may or may not come, since the solution isn't going to be dependent on your activity at all.

In any case, this is about as plainly as I can put this. Either you are happy with the game or you are not. If you are not, then the best way to change it is to suggest something usable by Cryptic you like that also works within the constraints of the game's goals. If you are unwilling to do that, then I guess you just aren't going to get what you want unless someone more industrious comes around who wants the same thing. But until one of those things happens, there's just not much point to continuing to discuss it.

[Stevediaman]

I'm glad it's going to mostly be your own ship, with your own crew to control. I wouldn't want to have to always obey orders from someone, slave my way up to captain, deal with fickle players, mutinies. Actually, that last one could be cool, even if it wouldn't really happen on a Star Fleet vessel very often. It would on a Klingon one, though.

Anyway. I would play partially because I like to strategize, I like to figure things out, but I don't always like having to vie for my opinion to be heard. I'm also a fairly casual gamer and wouldn't be able to or want to spend all of my free time attempting to be promoted to having my own ship.

Well you're taking the player crew idea a bit too literal. Many of us would prefer it to be more of a social system where a few friends can get together and crew a ship. Not many people like to play an MMO alone, and how many times have you seen more than 1 ship used to complete a single simple mission?

I agree that a promotion based, must take orders from captain system would never work.

[Stevediaman]

unless Cryptic has a sudden flash of inspiration.

Holy **** i think u just stumbled onto the point of an idea...

Im not here to make the game for them, im here to help lead them in right right direction.

And yes, they do read the forums.

[sixwhirled]

I find it strange how vehement some posters are about having player crews.

[Tuvya]

Read the original post please, player crews leads to more single ship oriented scenarions like boarding enemy ships.

Thats one example, you can come up w/ a million of your own.

They said in the webcast you will not be boarding ships as part of combat...

[LordDave]

Posted an actual solution (not just a "This is what we want to be able to do") in the Allow Player Crews! thread.

Warning: Not for easily bored readers.

[Stevediaman]

They said in the webcast you will not be boarding ships as part of combat...

Yet the game footage had a klingon killing a helmsman on a federation ship?

The framework for a system is in the game,

If people kept their mouths shut manny mmo's wouldnt exist today. Games are built around player feedback.

Just because they said it isnt an option now, does not mean it cant or wont be a little bit down the road.

[hbot3000]

Games are built around player feedback.

road.

No, they really aren't. They may be tweaked by player feedback, but no game developer in his right mind is going to design a game based on what group in the forums is screaming the loudest. This is the number one thing that irritates me most about game forums. The ability to give feedback is not the same as magical control over the course of the game if you type loud enough or even if you get 50 people to agree with you.

Let's face it, if you were developing the game yourself, you would probably stay true to what you think would be a good game experience, and create the game yourself, rather than allow content and gameplay to be shifted too much by an "elite council of forums posters".

Developers will take forums feedback into account, but at the end of the day any adult is going to do what he/she thinks is best, even if it goes against the current forums crusade for "X" game feature.

The power to control game development through forums posts is entirely imaginary.

[mintor426]

Yet the game footage had a klingon killing a helmsman on a federation ship?

The framework for a system is in the game,

If people kept their mouths shut manny mmo's wouldnt exist today. Games are built around player feedback.

Just because they said it isnt an option now, does not mean it cant or wont be a little bit down the road.

if were watching and listing he said that klingon are not on good terms with the federation.


aka said kettmor accord is long gone.

[Sonar]

I'm completely for A.I. crews. Screw ensign dillweed taking the last slot and griefing you in to a sun.

However.

For the sake of argument. I'll say that I've always thought that having the ability to take on lesser roles outside of your main character would be great. Say you are in the arse end of space analyzing asteroids (read- grinding for XP) Suddenly your friend Bob messages you that hes in a fight and could use a good targeting officer. So you hit the auto pilot and accept the invitation to board Bobs ship. You now are Ensign Ricky and you use the tactical display to analyze the enemy ship for weaknesses, target critical points, and bad ass your way to a win. Suddenly your shields drop, engineering was AFK (or the A.I. failed) and enemies appear on the bridge. You pull out your phaser and defend the captain, firing not so valiantly from behind cover. As the last enemy drops and the bad guys ship explodes you get a message telling you that your ship is under attack by pirates. You message Bob "Hey, if you don't want to clean up the mess here I could use a good tac comm officer..."

Adding the ability to take on secondary characters that have no value (and are dead when killed) outside of your primary character has been a dream of mine for a long time. Picture 50 storm troopers fighting in a Hoth tunnel, of them 3 are players. If the player gets killed, he just hops into one of the remaining Troopers and continues to fight. His 'real' character is a ship captain, but he jumps into secondary character to fight on a smaller scale without risking his main character (or giving him anything, you may turn the fight as ensign Ricky but you don't get anything for it, no XP, nothing)


Now, if that solves the problem everyone is complaining about for not having anything to do (You'd always have something to do, even if your character didn't, by jumping into positions across the galaxy). Lets talk about the big negatives.

Firstly... damn that's a lot of code.

Secondly... now you actually DO have to have something to do in each of those stations. You have to turn "press a button to fire" into a complex targeting system. Oh and make sure you can balance it right, you wouldn't want players to be able to run a station much better than an A.I. else the U.S.S. Griefmobile will destroy your playerbase by killing newbletts outside of the stardock. Oh and did I mention it's a lot of code?

I'd love to have A.I. everything with players jumping into and out of whatever role they want. Main character on a long warp leg? Jump into Bobs Away team and scan/shoot planet life.

But its a tremendous amount of code. It's my dream game, but it's a tremendous amount of code.

Anyway, there you go. That's how you do player run crews, by not actually tying the PLAYER down to one character. One character for the schnazzy XP and bling, a billion characters to red shirt in. Real Red Shirts. What a concept!

[Stevediaman]

if were watching and listing he said that klingon are not on good terms with the federation.


aka said kettmor accord is long gone.


I was saying that to show that the mechanic for boarding enemy ships is in the game.

[darrian157]

No, they really aren't. They may be tweaked by player feedback, but no game developer in his right mind is going to design a game based on what group in the forums is screaming the loudest. This is the number one thing that irritates me most about game forums. The ability to give feedback is not the same as magical control over the course of the game if you type loud enough or even if you get 50 people to agree with you.

Let's face it, if you were developing the game yourself, you would probably stay true to what you think would be a good game experience, and create the game yourself, rather than allow content and gameplay to be shifted too much by an "elite council of forums posters".

Developers will take forums feedback into account, but at the end of the day any adult is going to do what he/she thinks is best, even if it goes against the current forums crusade for "X" game feature.

The power to control game development through forums posts is entirely imaginary.

This is so true. Not only for video games, but pretty much every product in existence. Of course feedback is taken into consideration as there are many folks out there with many great ideas, but in the end, it is the developer of the product that makes the decisions, and they will do what they think is right.

On the topic of player controlled crews, I think it would be a great option to be able to park your ship at some space dock while you are a guest player on another ship.

The guest player wouldn't be able to control the ship during space combat or flight, but they could certainly provide feedback to the captain by perhaps doing scans of other ships and pointing out weak spots, or they could even just watch the fight from the bridge. Maybe you could chat with fellow players in ten forward while en route to a destination as a social aspect of the game. Possibilities are endless.

Of course guest players on a ship would be invaluable in away missions.

Lastly, Star Trek episodes are centered around the ship of the series. I certainly think that having fleets and NPC crews is great, but that being the only way for friends to play together kind of gets away from the feel of Star Trek. Having the option to have friends on your ship while you go on missions will add a new dimension of game play and will allow for players to really get that Star Trek feel they want.

I know many folks want player crews, the in depth system that some folks want is certainly not going to happen, the negatives surely outweigh the positives. I do however hope that Cryptic finds a way that will allow players to play together on a single ship as an aspect of the game.

[Arokh72]

I've skimmed through most of this and read a few so please forgive me if this has been mentioned.

I like the idea of both sides of the story, NPC crews can give you your own sense of power haha whereas a player crew can (not necessarily will) make a more enriched experience.

I do have one concern with player crews though. What happens if you are in the middle of a critical battle and one of your key crew members is disconnected for whatever reason. This has happened to me in WoW numerous times over the years of playing. It is quite annoying as both the disconnected player and the party left behind.

[delta9]

i agree , please give us the option to have PC and NPC crews!

[IanD967]

same the toption is the best way BUT Jack did say that you can help your friends and beam down to away missiosn together if you wanted to aswell as beaming to your friends ships so they can show off their ship etc :D

although it might not make it to launch it doesnt rule it out at all. heck its going to take alot of time for them to figure out content to keep everyone occupied instead of content for 3 while the others are just left standing around

[Moatengator]

I could see player crews working well as a Strike Force/Task Force (using CoX terminology). I think they have put a lot of thought into mixed AI/PC crews. They have probably wargamed some options and then looked at all the other work that has to be done vs. whatever there planned release date is. My guess is that they have come up with an answer of Not on Initial Release. Having played Cryptic MMO's and a lot of other ones...as counter intuitive as it sounds they are pretty good about making things that can be played alone, but give you a whole lot of ways to team up and play quickly with others.

[k.mpok]

I am hoping for a combination of the 2. If presented with enough material for the various roles (not all of it must be combat/what ever role you are assigned but can be social as well) then you would have plenty for everyone aboard to do.

[KeyhEdge]

Thats not my problem, im simply giving out ideas.

Also i know a guy that does alot of coding for many games and he also supports adding a player crew system into this game.

But you know what? I think ill make that my new motto.... Screw a good idea if its too hard.

The thing is, there's a certain development process that starts with planning. If they can't get past the planning stage in something, they're not going to put it in the game. Honestly, they should "screw" the idea if it's too hard and come back to it later.

Here are some problems that I'm sure are stopping them from creating this system, and there have really been no good ways to solve them:

1. What is everyone going to do that they will be having fun at any given time.
2. How do you stop griefers from ruining everyone's fun
3. If you decide to make it optional, how do you balance solo players with NPC crew vs a player with a PC crew

[cylon8]

the whole idea is to make the game accessible to everyone. Not everyone wants to depend on a group of people in order to be able to use a ship. Personally, I've had noting but bad exoperiences trying to set up guilds or group raids in other games. There's always someone who doesn't show up or gets entices by another guild. Having a skillable npc crew is right up my ally. That way i can control my guild size, aka only family plays with me when I want them to. I want the game to be very accesibly, not having a steep frustrating learning curve like eve does

[EvilDonkey]

I wish people could keep this in one thread.

@Jerack
There is one thing you're wrong about. Even if Cryptic would implement both game types (which is impossible, but lets just say they manage it) it wouldn't increase their player base that much.

It's a minority of hardcore players that would have fun the rest would stick to what they make now.

[ressikan_flute]

Here are some problems that I'm sure are stopping them from creating this system, and there have really been no good ways to solve them:

1. What is everyone going to do that they will be having fun at any given time.
2. How do you stop griefers from ruining everyone's fun
3. If you decide to make it optional, how do you balance solo players with NPC crew vs a player with a PC crew

1. Subplots. Even so, in diplomatic missions there are security and tactical measures that need to be taken, duties to perform.
2. Choose a bridge crew without griefers
3. Different servers.

[T-child]

it should be a 50 - 50 thing.

aka with a group and real players on all stations your more powerfull.
with bots your ship can still function, however you will lose some functions and not be as powerfull.

(see peptulian)

[Frederikkay]

This discution is ancient and I will have warned against this so many times at Startrek-online.net
Player crews means forced grouping and really, what gameplay is there in controlling a ship?
So one guy pilots, second guy fires phasers, third guy manages power and shield and the rest are picking their noses?
If you have player crews, I would say 4 people max. Because out side of combat it would just be boring. Why would a medic want to sit down in sickbay al day when their is no on to heal, or be forced to do one task repeatedly forever.

If this game wants to achieve a sence of Freedom we must al have a ship. Think gameplay, not just canon.
Small crews of 4 might work, but I must speak against forced grouping and the disability to roam freely in your own ship.
Cryptic is going the right way with this.

[ressikan_flute]

This discution is ancient and I will have warned against this so many times at Startrek-online.net
Player crews means forced grouping.

Frederik, since when is giving people the OPTION to have PC crews forcing you to do anything? Let's have it both ways, because I might want to solo sometimes, too. The problem is everyone forces us PC crew supporters into extreme positions that I, for one, don't hold.

[Hornet331]

This discution is ancient and I will have warned against this so many times at Startrek-online.net
Player crews means forced grouping and really, what gameplay is there in controlling a ship?
So one guy pilots, second guy fires phasers, third guy manages power and shield and the rest are picking their noses?
If you have player crews, I would say 4 people max. Because out side of combat it would just be boring. Why would a medic want to sit down in sickbay al day when their is no on to heal, or be forced to do one task repeatedly forever.

If this game wants to achieve a sence of Freedom we must al have a ship. Think gameplay, not just canon.
Small crews of 4 might work, but I must speak against forced grouping and the disability to roam freely in your own ship.
Cryptic is going the right way with this.

QFE

I enjoy doing sometimes things on my own in a mmo, i dont want to relay others. Sometimes it is better to do something on its own. I would hate forced grouping.

[Captain_Noon]

I personally like the idea of having a "pet" type of crew, though I can see the benefits to having a PC crew as well. I tend to agree with most here that I am kind of hoping to havethe option for one or the other, possible both at the same time.

However, I can just imagine trying to get other players to take orders from people.

Captain Noon: Helmsman, set course for Polaris system.
XXC4pt4IN_K1rkXX: Screw you Captian NOOB!!! WE're going to the Orion system for green Slave girls! I w4nts to g3ta l4id!!!
Captain Noon: Security! Take the Helmsman to the brig!
Lt. Cmd Warf:
Captain Noon: Uhm security?
Lt Cmd Warf:
XXC4pt4IN_K1rkXX: WOOOHOOO!!!! W4rP F***k1ng 9 B1tCh3s!!!!
Captain Noon: Lt. Cmd WARF!!! Take him to the brig!
Lt. Cmd Warf: Oh sorry dude I was AFK. My mom says I gotta take out teh garbage then eat dinner. It's taco night! Don't start the Borg raid till I get back.
(Lt. Cmd Warf had logged out)
Captain Noon: Mr. Spork, take the Helsman into custody.
Mr. Spork: I'm sorry Captain but I find that request Illogical. I'm a Science Officer. But I must say that it is time for my Pon Farr so I have to agree with the Helsman's assertion of going to get some slave girls.
Captain Noon: *sigh* Dr. Boney, report the bridge. I need you to sedate the Helsman.
Dr. Boney: Damn it Jim! I'm a Doctor not a debuffer!!
Captain Noon: Do you HAVE to start every sentence with "Damn it Jim"?
Dr. Boney: Damn it Jim! What kind of question is that?!
XXC4pt4IN_K1rkXX: WTF?!? We've dr0pp3d 0ut of w4rp!?!?
Captain Noon: Great...now what?

*Viewscreen turns on*
General Ching: nuqneH!
Captain Noon: Klingons, just what I need....Look General, I have having problems with some of my crew, can we PVP later?
XXC4pt4IN_K1rkXX: E4T Qu4ntuM T0rp3do3s b1tch3s!!!11!!!1!!
Captain Noon: WHAT?!?! STAND DOWN I REPEAT STAND DOWN!!!
General Ching: This is an outrage towards the Klingon Empire! You have just set us at WAR!!! Qaaplaaaaaa!!!
Captain Noon: Aw crap....

To be contiuned...

[Gnerph]

Who says the players have to be sitting around doing nothing? Just because the ship is partially player controlled, doesn't mean there are no NPC's. While the ship is in combat it is possibly taking damage. The captain can issue commands to send repair crews to deck X. You could be in charge of that repair crew. Or the game itself could create side-quests, automatically alerting repair crews.

Then you can have seperate medical teams, again either notified by the captain of automatically by the game, to deal with NPC casualties in the sick bay or near a plasma conduit explosion.

I think the whole point is that NPC's are obviously going to be needed - But the heads of the departments should all be controlled, where possible, by players.

[Banach]

I think it is just a matter of how deep would you wish to immerse yourself in the roleplay aspect.
If the game would offer modes like pvp/pve but also full rp it would have my preference.
For me RP is the sole reason to play this game, and the system of player = captain+ship isn't appealing to me at all.
I want to be a Chief of Security, not a captain...
I want to be able to play as crew aboard a ship. But I realize that should not be the only option because for gameplay yes I would agree a small group of players per ship works better...
Though it all will not stop me from at least trying the game out.

[Grig]

if there was an option of both then fine.. npc or pc crew is fine but really if you think about it the fight would be who ship you go in.. player A is a 15yr old who has nothing better to do but play 13hr a day and has the best ship screaming my ship my ship is better, an if the group dont go with that then you have a 15yr old who will at the hight of battle log off an he controlling the weapons system.

[Gnerph]

People logging out during the middle of an encounter is a problem in all MMO's, it's just the nasture of a multiplayer game. If your group healer logs out in any of the fantasy MMO's, generally you're screwed. You're supposed to group with and rely on others around you to complete certain goals. If you didn't have to ever rely on anyone else, you may as well play a single player game instead.

In most MMO's you have either premade or pug's (pick up groups), if you find it impossible to get a reliable pick up group, then make a premade with friends or guildies.

[Ziegler]

if there was an option of both then fine.. npc or pc crew is fine but really if you think about it the fight would be who ship you go in.. player A is a 15yr old who has nothing better to do but play 13hr a day and has the best ship screaming my ship my ship is better, an if the group dont go with that then you have a 15yr old who will at the hight of battle log off an he controlling the weapons system.

if they allow for either/or then I am sure there will be a autofill as well....meaning if your boy drops out, the ships default weapons system NPC will come online or another live member of the crew should be able to take over the spot and a NPC will fill his position.

[Valenthalas]

I agree that their should probably be a limit, but I think being able to have PCs on your bridge crew would make it more interesting. I mean it would still be fun with seperate ships, but I think it would be a more social experience if say you could take over the NPCs role of Chief of Security, or Tactical.. etc.. I mean, everyone doesn't want to be a Captain.. I don't think captaining a ship is a role everyone relates to or wants to be in.. so what if I want to be a science officer and scan each planet for lifeforms and new elements?.. why can't I do that instead of giving that to a bot?.. If you were to have interchangeable NPC/PC bridge crews, it would be nice to have your normal bot for that position step in automatically if one of the PC's was not responding or got d/c somehow.. plus you as the captain of the ship would have to be able to remove someone who couldn't follow orders or whatever.

[Zyrious]

What are the downsides to player crews that have not been addressed? the 1 stupid problem where people will have nothing to do?

Thats like saying a level 50 person invited 20 level 80's to do a level 10 quest

If you get more people than you need, thats your fault

You also make it sound like someones gonna put a phaser to your head and make you board my ship.

I'll give you the major issue with this right now. You want the developers to waste time developing probably the single most worthless feature the game could ever have. Now it's one thing when it's just some simple interiors to walk around and show off to friends, but you want them to actually code, test and polish a system that allows individual players to handle what is normally all controled by the captain.

You have to completely change how the game runs, from the captain having complete control of the ship (In-character he's bossing around the NPC's) to splitting that all up among all of the different command consoles, designing it in a way where each station can work fluently with the other without being to limited or have too many options that they interfere with the other stations, all with fluent communication between each player, and it has to be bug free and streamlines so that a player-crew ran ship can actually perform any kind of action fluently without smashing into an asteroid because tactical wanted to hit that klingon Vorcha but Navigation was distracted by a GGW commercial on their TV.

You essentially want the dev's to create an entirely seperate game from the other 2 "games" that will exsist. So you'll end up with over a billion lines of code for Ground, Space single, and then Space co-op. Now, it's one thing for interiors, that's important for immersion and giving your ship a real "big" feel as you tour the decks and decorate it, but Player controlled crews are not relevant to the immersion, rather they became overly cumbersome and take away way too many resources that could otherwise be spent elsewhere polishing up the game, since NPC crews work just as well, if not better, while still supplying the immersion of commanding your crew.

[DCFan1980]

I too am for having the option of npc crews and player run crews at least for the bridge , My opinion is that if cryptic decides to keep it a all npc crew imo their making it a single player game not a mmo , Not to mention their really killing immersion .

Plain and simple who wants to do missions all day with a bunch of bots with no social aspect , if i want that i'll play star trek bridge commander , There is a way to have the best of both worlds i'm not asking for just a pure dedicated player crew system , But i believe a solution can be found where everyone is happy .

if cryptic releases a game where there is practically no social interaction i for one won't play as i dont plan on spending 15 bucks a month just to play with a bunch of bots where's the fun in that and i don't understand how some pople think that is the best way to go . Many think that if they have player run crews they think it will force them to group and start drama .

Plain and simple i've seen these excuses used too many times , Now if this was as i said earlier a pure player crew system then yes i agree , But Cryptic knows as well as i do and everyone else that a mixed npc /player run crew system is workable if crpytic is willing to spend the resources which they should as i said before if they don't find a option it will only numb down the social and interaction aspect which is not healthy for mmo's .

[Stevediaman]

I'll give you the major issue with this right now. You want the developers to waste time developing probably the single most worthless feature the game could ever have.

That is YOUR opinion. Pleasee keep YOUR opinion to YOURSELF in my thread.

One mans garbage is another mans treasure.

[Zyrious]

That is YOUR opinion. Pleasee keep YOUR opinion to YOURSELF in my thread.

One mans garbage is another mans treasure.

In terms of adding anything to the gameplay, it is worthless, you are adding more work to an already simple task. What everyone else can do themselves you want to quadrouple the code so that it takes 6 people to do.

[Stevediaman]

In terms of adding anything to the gameplay, it is worthless, you are adding more work to an already simple task. What everyone else can do themselves you want to quadrouple the code so that it takes 6 people to do.

Again, you ignore the fact that this is YOUR opinion. Very few people have said anything negative about player crews.

Also if you actually took the time to read any of my posts, you'll see that for me, player crews are a start to bigger and better things, such as raiding enemy player ships, and ship defense while people are on away missions.

[EnsignSkylarkThibedeau]

Well I am currently playing in an Online Trek Sim in Second Life and I can see some problems with being part of an all player crew. I'm a nurse and my station is in Sick Bay. If the ship/base is attacked I'm supposed to stay at my post and it can be hours before the invaders attack the infirmary or casualties start coming in. It gets pretty boring not being part of the action.

If you are the commander of your own ship, you join the fray right away.

[Unassailable]

You have to completely change how the game runs, from the captain having complete control of the ship (In-character he's bossing around the NPC's) to splitting that all up among all of the different command consoles, designing it in a way where each station can work fluently with the other without being to limited or have too many options that they interfere with the other stations, all with fluent communication between each player, and it has to be bug free and streamlines so that a player-crew ran ship can actually perform any kind of action fluently without smashing into an asteroid because tactical wanted to hit that klingon Vorcha but Navigation was distracted by a GGW commercial on their TV.

Wow... you seem to be overcomplicating the issue, and have assumptions that are contradicted by even the very little concrete information we have on the game.

NPC crews will be recruited and trained. That means they will have stats. That means they will be effective at certain things, that their jobs will be split up in a meaningful way. That means there's room to have PCs take up those different roles and jobs in a way that is already divided without having a 'new and different' game.

In addition, making each station work together isn't any more difficult than making different classes work together in another MMO. And while the communication issue could be major, there are some very cool ways to deal with that, which I mentioned in my Fun crew-Based gameplay thread. They're long, but I can repost them here if you like.

The image of dependency which many PC-Crew critics have is a bit silly. People imagine PC crews are trapped together on a ship, unable to work independently... when in reality, they're just teaming up like any other MMO, with the exact same challenges and benefits. It's not any more 'difficult' than having multiple ships team up...

[mdeen]

If you're serious about wanting this feature, I implore you to please study programming and game design. I'm not sure you have any idea how mind-bogglingly ridiculous what you just said is, and how horribly it trashes your believability for those of us who have. :confused:

here here!

[Drolith]

The main issue with player run crews would be boredom. In EVE everyone is their own captain and it works out fine. Would a multi-crew system be a nice option, sure it would be cool but not very logical.

In EVE combat is fast paced, sometimes very fast where every second counts. I'm not sure I want to rely on someone else to make the decision of when to turn on my armor/shield repairers or when to do a micro-warp-drive burst, or when to "divert power" here or there. A way to fix that would be require permission from the captain as it should but then again that is more time lost in the middle of combat. Now I know they said the combat will be slow paced but still, every second will count and I doubt I would depend on someone else for that critical action to be taken.

As it has been stated, the main issue is between ship combat situation wtf would your crew do? I know in EVE they would do nothing, after combat you simply repair and go and maybe pick up some more ammo/gear if you have fittings that require them. So in EVE instead of having a multi-crew ship you have a multi ship fleet...everyone can have a separate role. You can have all kinds of different roles for ships in your fleet; DPS (damage guy), EW (electronic warfare), Tackle (keep enemy from running), logistics (buffer/healer)...all kinds.

Now as for multi-crew systems I have played a game where that was possible. Dangerous waters is a submarine simulator and you can have a person to man every station (about 8 stations total). SO here is an example of where it was tried and tested...now how does it work out? SO you have stations for weapons management, radar, sonar, navigation, TMA, and so on. This is a hardcore sim so having a person at each or a few stations is actually a nice thing. Having someone searching the sonar for contacts, then try to identify the contact through another station, finding them and sending them to the TMA guy to try and plot their movement. Then having your weapons officer getting tubes ready and selecting the right weapon for the target. In this sense it works, but this is a simulator and there are A LOT of things that need doing ONCE you find a target to get to work on, or once someone shoots at you and you have to start a whole other mess of things. This is about as slow paced as combat can go, I mean you and the other guy can see each other and not shoot for another hour...or more, plus it can take hours to find a target in which your crew who has nothing to do with navigation and contact sweeping is sitting there sipping coffee twiddling there thumbs. Now after saying all of that, the multi-crew option was just that...an option. 99% of our missions we played we all command our own ships and did all of that and more on our own and did just fine. It was actually a little harder when you split it up because you need A SOLID communication line between everyone or (like I mentioned above) time was lost trying to get everyone on the same page.

So it all comes down to what to do between situations where EVERYONE is involved and if it is even necessary to have a crew doing a job that one man can do. If this space combat is as complex as a sim (which I very seriously doubt it will be anywhere close to a sim) then it might actually be useful else...just a waste overall.

[Whitefyre]

I think that a lot of people are taking the pvp section of the game too seriously in this thread. I dont want a player crew of 50 players in which 39 of them are not in my time zone and the others are bored to tears.

I for one would be willing to take a hard ass such as Jerack and make him the stud like what Riker is (if I knew him well enough) and make sure that he would be my number two in case a diplomatic problem gets too intense and I need assistance.

Making decisions alone would have never made sense in many of the ST series. Many of the characters in ST needed and took advice from fellow friends/crew.

Logic: If I had to choose from A, B, and C and I took answer B (wrong) I could be corrected by my fellow REAL player officers (friends.)

I dont and would never want anyone to ever be forced to be in my crew. It was stated that EVERYONE will be in command of their own ship. Yea and...? Lets leave Jeracks ship behind for a little while, let his crew enjoy Risa for a week and Jerak will give me a hand for a week. It would definetly be more enjoyable than talking to NPCs for hours on end and/or fleets that are lightyears away.......

BTW please stop compairing this game to other awful games... cryptic is doing the best they can to make this game very much different from traditional MMOs.

[starbuck1771]

Er, won't you be playing with other people? You'll all just have you're own ships. & you'll be able to beam down & co-op on missions & stuff.

I

The thing is that not everybody wants to command. This is the same mistake SOE made with Star Wars Galaxies. They made a statement that everyone wanted to be Luke , Ham, Leia, or Lando. Look at what happened to that game.

The fact is not everyone wants command. I myself would rather be Head of Security or the ship's Medical Officer..

[scroll33]

I like the idea of being part of a crew but I can't for the life of me see how it could work and remain compelling for several hours. I could see it working in short skirmish PvP though. Pick a PvP career, science,
medical,tactical,weapons etc and join a team filling one of the open positions on a ship. Short team battles ensue with you taking responsibility for that ship system, gain points for victory that can then go toward improving your pvp career class. Capture the sector game play would be the obvious choice.

[Whitefyre]

Here we go again about the pvp and pve. Another aspect of the game is to explore. I cant hang on the computer for hours on end without someone to communicate with. The most fun quests to do are the ones with your buddies and Im not talking PVP or PVE Im talking about discovering new worlds, races, other interesting things/problems that are rewarding to you, your buddy(ies) and your crew... but I guess my previous post on this thread went unread.

[scroll33]

Yea I don't see why instanced group away missions wouldn't work. If you have away missions with bots I don't see why the bots can't be replaced by players.

[Whitefyre]

:D Thats the spirit :D

[Valenthalas]

For people who want to go the Medical route.. what point would it even be to do so? Not many captains are medical in nature.. and why would the captain be beaming down as the medical member of an away team? Making everyone have to be a captain seems just like an overly easy way to not think up ways to make it more interesting to allow PC/NPC crews to interact.. I think in some ways it would be fine to log in and take my station (as captain or whatever if it's my ship) and fly off to do some missions, then have a friend of mine log in later and "relieve" the NPC crewman of duty from his station. If he happens to have to leave suddenly or because of a D/C.. there's always an NPC that can walk in to relieve him, just like on the shows, or to beam down and replace him on the away team.. it SHOULD be an option, as I know I'd like the friends of mine that I play MMO's with to work with me on missions and whatnot.. it shouldn't be a fleet of ships going somewhere everytime something needs to be done or taken care of.. PLUS it would make more sense if say.. PCs had better skills to man stations than did NPCs of equal level.. which would -encourage- crews to work together efficiently and perhaps by all working together in such a way (almost like a chain of abilities) getting a synergy bonus for cooperation and whatnot... just a thought.

[Creoleman]

The option for players to play with an NPC crew or Human PC crew will, IMO, be an option in the future, its just not something the devs want to spend too much time on because of the difficulty in figuring out the mechanics and if they can do it before launch they will but I wouldn't want them to do it if it is going to force team play upon those of us who don't want to be forced into having to depend on someone to fill in a certain position and then go afk in the middle of a firefight on the ship or on a planet's surface when they are needed the most.

Lets hope that with all of the time available to them before launch, we will see more features being added than what was announced this past Sunday. I'm willing to see what tomorrow brings in the STO universe and can't wait to see what comes up next.

[starbuck1771]

The option for players to play with an NPC crew or Human PC crew will, IMO, be an option in the future, its just not something the devs want to spend too much time on because of the difficulty in figuring out the mechanics and if they can do it before launch they will but I wouldn't want them to do it if it is going to force team play upon those of us who don't want to be forced into having to depend on someone to fill in a certain position and then go afk in the middle of a firefight on the ship or on a planet's surface when they are needed the most.

Lets hope that with all of the time available to them before launch, we will see more features being added than what was announced this past Sunday. I'm willing to see what tomorrow brings in the STO universe and can't wait to see what comes up next.


Umm It's Star Trek. It's all about team play. If you dont want to be part of a crew then dont. However it will just hurt you in the end. Thats why this is called an MMO. Not single player. Which part of multiplayer is so hard for people to comprehend? I am a fan of Star Trek and MMO's. I play MMO's to interact with other players. You dont want interaction you chose the wrong game type to play. Hell even star wars galaxies lets you get ships where other players can man the turrets. :cool:

[starbuck1771]

For people who want to go the Medical route.. what point would it even be to do so? Not many captains are medical in nature.. and why would the captain be beaming down as the medical member of an away team? Making everyone have to be a captain seems just like an overly easy way to not think up ways to make it more interesting to allow PC/NPC crews to interact.. I think in some ways it would be fine to log in and take my station (as captain or whatever if it's my ship) and fly off to do some missions, then have a friend of mine log in later and "relieve" the NPC crewman of duty from his station. If he happens to have to leave suddenly or because of a D/C.. there's always an NPC that can walk in to relieve him, just like on the shows, or to beam down and replace him on the away team.. it SHOULD be an option, as I know I'd like the friends of mine that I play MMO's with to work with me on missions and whatnot.. it shouldn't be a fleet of ships going somewhere everytime something needs to be done or taken care of.. PLUS it would make more sense if say.. PCs had better skills to man stations than did NPCs of equal level.. which would -encourage- crews to work together efficiently and perhaps by all working together in such a way (almost like a chain of abilities) getting a synergy bonus for cooperation and whatnot... just a thought.

Actualy there were a few you just didn't see them in command of the ships. However you did see two. Admiral Leonard McCoy, and Admiral Beverly Crusher.

[Samy]

Captain Noon: Helmsman, set course for Polaris system.
XXC4pt4IN_K1rkXX: Screw you Captian NOOB!!! WE're going to the Orion system for green Slave girls! I w4nts to g3ta l4id!!!
(Right click - dismiss)
* XXC4pt4IN_K1rkXX has been dismissed from the USS Exempli Gratia
* XXC4pt4IN_K1rkXX is now in Starbase 357
* Ensign Replacement (NPC) has set course for Polaris system.
* Ensign Replacement (NPC) has set speed for Warp Factor 5.
* USS Exempli Gratia is now on the way to: Polaris. ETA 8 minutes.

[Ignak]

They shouldn't force player crews, but maybe make them available via one big "raid-ship" to do some quest or so. Would be like going to raid, but the whole "party" went on the same ship and the leader would be the captain. Everybody would have their own things to do in the ship to get the "quest" or "event" or whatever it might be, and to get this done they would have to work as a team.

Same could go for partying as a mission, there's not only gonna be away missions, but missions in space as well. Captain's could leave their own ship to their first officer (aka. AI) or some space dock until the end of the mission, and go with other human controlled players in the same ship to do the "misson" or whatever they will be. Or just explore in a group.

Just a thought.

[jhem99]

(Right click - dismiss)
* XXC4pt4IN_K1rkXX has been dismissed from the USS Exempli Gratia
* XXC4pt4IN_K1rkXX is now in Starbase 357
* Ensign Replacement (NPC) has set course for Polaris system.
* Ensign Replacement (NPC) has set speed for Warp Factor 5.
* USS Exempli Gratia is now on the way to: Polaris. ETA 8 minutes.

#@#@#@#@#@#@#@#@#@#@#@#@
rofl.:D

[KO_Gilligan]

I believe this is irrelevant Agenda Spam about the game being 100 Billion Captains and making Cryptic change their minds about what has already been planned.

[Go-Man]

I want player-only crews.

I play an MMO to play with other people, not a bunch of bots.

unless of course the only people you find are complete smaktards.

i'd prefer prefer to keep soloing as an option.

[mendal]

I think that having a friend directing your fire on your ship during combat is relatively ok idea but here is another idea. Let alone that people get disconnected and then somehow are replaced by your pet crew, WHAT IF they lag? if you are disconnected you usually free a space to play in (as in example above - tactical) but f you lag you are just stuck there taking the place which could be by now accupied by an NPC instead of you. And also in general (cause it is debatable) I would prefer an additional friendly ship firing instead of having a better tactical officer in mine.

P.S. please let's be more patient with each other and only make suggestions without saying what Cryptic can or can't do. Cryptic will decide themselves and we are their delphi brainstorming.

[Valenthalas]

Actualy there were a few you just didn't see them in command of the ships. However you did see two. Admiral Leonard McCoy, and Admiral Beverly Crusher.

Well yes, that's true, but generally that is not the case. And as I said, if you wish to be a doctor, it just seems to go against canon to have your Captain doing all the things that a CMO would be doing, I doubt the first officer would be approving to much of a captain beaming down on every away mission as a medical officer. I don't know how they really plan on taking things like that into account, perhaps we can actually switch to different members of our crew?.. I don't know.. I just hope they fix some minor gameplay issues like that..

[Neshy]

ok... the devs have spoken and are developing their system. players controlling ships cant work because you might get 15mins of gametime a week. i dont understand why you apparently started a topic with a title the opposite of what you belive in. we should see why the system they have come up with is good, instead of telling them to change that, since thats simply not happening. you need to understand that if half the people want npc crew and the other half want player crew. if player crew will take about 7 years to develop and an npc crew will take a matter of months-1.5 years to develop they will go with the latter.

[Vernian]

I have to be honest, at first I was disappointed in hearing there is going to be NPCs as my bridge crew. However, I kept on thinking about it and now I am actually happy that Cryptic went this route.

Think about it, in a guild vs guild battle or any event where it is a battle between Federation vs the Klingons, wouldn't you rather have as many ships as you can get to fight on your side? Well if you have 2-5 man crews and the opposing side says screw that, everyone bring your own ship, then you would be vastly out numbered (assuming both sides have roughly the same amount of people).

And yea I know some of you are saying make the 2-5 man crew's ship stronger, I agree that ship should be stronger but not vastly stronger. If you make the 2-5 man crew's ship vastly stronger, then you will start hurting the people who like to fight solo because they wouldn't be able to compete against a 2-5 crew which is very unfair.