Ship Tree

[crazyeddie1564]

What I would like to know is how they plan on giving us access to different ships.

Is it going to be like all ships available at any time just have the resources to purchase it? Or
Is it going to be like your level you can only access ships at your level, and those below it?

Also are the players going to get the choice of which ship to start off with, or is there going to be one default the go from there?

[Jezebel1669]

Are there going to be branches to the tree as well, or just a single path you work through as you reach a new level/rank/level of resources?

[Varrangian]

They said that as you gain in rank you'll gain access to larger ships and larger crews. I believe this is in the FAQ.

[Jezebel1669]

They said that as you gain in rank you'll gain access to larger ships and larger crews.Yes, but will this just be "here's your new ship choice" or "which ship would you like now"?

[USS_Paragon]

I just hope there are multiple ships for multiple roles per level. I'd hate to see at endgame, everyone flying around in Soverign class ships.

[EmperorNortonII]

Yes, but will this just be "here's your new ship choice" or "which ship would you like now"?

It's likely to be which ship do you like now, as different-sized/focused ships are good at different things. People who like exploring the galaxy will like a Galaxy-class, or something similar. People who like to get killed by Klingons will get Defiants.

[Kinjiru]

I'd like to see the ships presented as a basic chassis, but modular.

In other words, you get X ship, which has basic stats and equipment. You can then choose which modules to upgrade your ship with, like Science Packages, Engines (warp and impulse) Life Support, Phasers, Torpedo Launchers, etc. -- all dependent on the size and carrying capacity of the ship.

This way, you can outfit even a smaller ship over time to outperform a larger "stock" ship, and customize whether you're in a combat vessel, or something geared to research, or combinations thereof.

I'd like to be sure that the ships don't get stuck into archetypes, just like I don't want characters to be stuck into archetypes.

[Jezebel1669]

I just hope there are multiple ships for multiple roles per level. I'd hate to see at endgame, everyone flying around in Soverign class ships.Personally I'm hoping for a Wells class, like the USS Relativity. :D

I'd like to see the ships presented as a basic chassis, but modular.I completely agree. also the option to have modules refitted to swap out the abilities depending on the changing environment would be good too. I mean you wouldn't want to get caught in a long-range recon ship with lots of sensors and no weapons when a Borg cube is closing on the spacedock.

[AbaddonIX]

I hope that small/lesser ships will still be powerfull/usefull even when you have access to the highest rank ship.Like EVE ,where 5 frigates (2-3mil) can take down a lone battleship (60mil+).

If they dont come up with a system to make piloting ships youve gotten access to ages ago,then we will end up with a WoW situation (everyone wearing the same armor).

[njdss4]

Jack Emmert did say that there will be limits to what you can upgrade on each class, and I like that. I don't want to see someone able to upgrade the very first ship you can get to completely ridiculous levels. Let's keep it realistic to the Trek Universe.

I do want to have multiple options every time I change ships, though. No linear progression in this regard, please.

[Jezebel1669]

Jack Emmert did say that there will be limits to what you can upgrade on each class...Quite right. The Defiant class for example is a warship and so should have a good capacity for defenses and weapons but lousy access for scientific scanners and medical facilities. On the other hand something like the Steamrunner class would be a lot more flexible, but lacking the ability to outfit the best of any one type of equipment.

[vp21ct]

Quite right. The Defiant class for example is a warship and so should have a good capacity for defenses and weapons but lousy access for scientific scanners and medical facilities. On the other hand something like the Steamrunner class would be a lot more flexible, but lacking the ability to outfit the best of any one type of equipment.

You know youre ships :)

[njdss4]

Quite right. The Defiant class for example is a warship and so should have a good capacity for defenses and weapons but lousy access for scientific scanners and medical facilities. On the other hand something like the Steamrunner class would be a lot more flexible, but lacking the ability to outfit the best of any one type of equipment.

You know youre ships :)

True dat. Do we have a Cryptic dev posing as a normal poster here? :p

[BreachAndClear]

Jack had mentioned (in part II of the Hailing Frequency interview) that ships would have different attributes, like the Defiant has great offense but weak defense, while something like the Galaxy is well rounded (but I get the impression isn't going to excel in any one attribute).

I'd imagine that there will be different tiers, with each tier having several ships with varying attributes to meet different styles of gameplay.

For instance, an early tier might compose outdated vessels, such as:

Miranda class
Excelsior class
etc.

While a later tier might have vessels such as:

Steamrunner class
Sovereign class
etc.

With the Steamrunner filling the same style of gameplay as the Miranda, and the Sovereign filling the same niche as the Excelsior, but with the ships in the later tier being improvements in every way over their predecessors. But I also hope that ships might be tied to "profession" in some way, such that someone pursuing a career in a science (like a Medical officer) might have some incentive to use a science oriented class of ship like a Nova class. Perhaps he gains more experience while helming such a ship, or something to that effect.

[Jare]

I'd like to have more than one option each time I earn the chance to choose a new ship. Especially if the different ships have differeing strengths and weaknesses. For example, perhaps one ship would have the ability to be faster than others, where another ship can take more of a beating and still survive.

I also think it is a good idea to be able to upgrade slower level ships to some extent to where they can be competitive with more advanced ships. I don't think this should be limitless though, so you shouldn't be abe to take the first ship you get and keep upgrading it to where it is the equal of the most advanced ships in the game.


In general, as always, the more options we have available to us, the more fun it will be for me.

[Jezebel1669]

You know youre ships :):D

True dat. Do we have a Cryptic dev posing as a normal poster here? :pWell I wouldn't tell you if I was, would I? :P

With the Steamrunner filling the same style of gameplay as the Miranda...I'd expect the Akira class to replace the Miranda, the Steamrunner's are a heavier ship, but I get what you're saying. Hopefully there will be more ships than that available though, if it was Tier 1 Science = Oberth class, Tier 2 Science = Miranda, Tier 3 Science = Akira then we're getting back into the same problem again, just with different branches.

I'd still prefer the ability to customise the individual ships rather than just relying on their basic characteristics, plus this would make facing a ship just that little more tricky as you wouldn't know exactly what equipment an opponent may have on board.

[BreachAndClear]

Well, unless they fill the game with lots and lots of original ships (we know there will at least be a few) there aren't that many "science ships" or "cruisers" to give people of different career paths multiple options.

[BreachAndClear]

Sovereign
Galaxy
Nebula
Saber
Steamrunner
Oberth
Miranda
Excelsior
Nova
Intrepid
Norway
Ambassador
Akira
Defiant

**These are the principle ST Federation ship classes that I am familiar with that I could see potentially getting put into the game (I omitted the Constitution, because it's surely decomissioned by now). There are more obscure classes like the New Orleans, Niagara, Prometheus, and Saladin classes, but I don't see them finding there way into the game (MAYBE the Prometheus might, because quite a few people seem to like it here). And there's also a lot of ships in the books thar aren't in the films or series that may or may not find their way into the game. But, if anything, I'd imagine those that I've listed will be given first priority (and who knows if all of them will even be put into the game).

Assuming all 14 ships (again, this doesn't include original ships designed by CS) made it into the game, that only leaves about 2-3 ships per tier. Maybe 5-6 if 14 original ships were added in addition (but I can't picture that.

But also, only about 4 Klingon classes have been seen in the ST films and series, if 14-28 Federation ships were in the game (28 being extremely unlikely in my mind), CS would have to get to work generating 10-24 original Klingon ships to balance things out (and would be forced to pump out a lot of original Romulan ships too, when they are added). Thus, I don't see people getting a great deal of choice as to what ship they use (unless they want to use one from a previous tier).

[vp21ct]

Sovereign
Galaxy
Nebula
Saber
Steamrunner
Oberth
Miranda
Excelsior
Nova
Intrepid
Norway
Ambassador
Akira
Defiant



you left out the Dauntless

[BreachAndClear]

I would throw that in with the more obscure ships. I personally was not familiar with it, but all I can find about it (using the Memory Alpha ST wiki) is that it was only in a couple of episodes and was a prototype.

[demonic25]

You are'nt going to be able to buy any ship anytime as it's just not a logically step in a MMO....as in you want something like that to be a goal...you gain rank and then the ability to purchase certain ships as you progress like.

[Jezebel1669]

The Dauntless wasn't Starfleet, it was a trap built by an alien named Arturis to get revenge on the crew of Voyager for not destroying the Borg when they had the chance.

[BreachAndClear]

In SWG, basically everyone has the same starting ship (based on what faction they are a member of), and once they level up the gain access to new ships. The earlier levels don't give you any choice, for instance at the most basic level, an Imperial pilot is certified to fly ONLY a training TIE fighter. And after a couple levels they gain certification to fly the standard TIE, and after a few more levels they gain certification to fly the TIE/In fighter. It starts out very linear like that, unlocking new certifications one at a time.

But in later levels, you might unlike several certifications all at once. For instance, the certifications to fly a TIE Bomber and TIE Interceptor come at the same level. And at the last level, somewhere in the ball park of 5 ships all become available at the same time.

I'd imagine that STO would have to follow a similar system, with everyone at the lower levels flying the same ships, while you see more diversity at the higher levels. I don't see there being enough ship classes to allow for the devs to do much else. All Federation players might be stuck in a runabout at the start, and then perhaps they get an Oberth, then a Miranda class, and then maybe move up to an Excelsior class, and then perhaps there's a fork where they can pursue a Steamrunner or a Norway, etc. And perhaps once you become an Admiral, you might get the choice between a Galaxy, Sovereign, Intrepid, or Excalibur (one of the new ships).

[vp21ct]

The Dauntless wasn't Starfleet, it was a trap built by an alien named Arturis to get revenge on the crew of Voyager for not destroying the Borg when they had the chance.

i know, i was just kidding

[Kinjiru]

You are'nt going to be able to buy any ship anytime as it's just not a logically step in a MMO....as in you want something like that to be a goal...you gain rank and then the ability to purchase certain ships as you progress like.

Actually, in both MMOs that I've played where ships exist, you can purchase any of them at any time, you just needed to gain a certain amount of experience before being certified to captain them.

[Jezebel1669]

i know, i was just kiddingI completelt missed that. :p

Actually, in both MMOs that I've played where ships exist, you can purchase any of them at any time, you just needed to gain a certain amount of experience before being certified to captain them.Wasn't it like that in Starfleet Command 3, except the price of the ships got reduced as you increased in rank?