Reward changes

Quote from pwgroverclvlnd;21710791

Another round of PvE queue updates have been made and are making their way to Tribble for extra testing. As mentioned previously, this is an ongoing effort to improve STO and this update (and those that came before) are not the entirety of what will be done.

New to Tribble this week:

No Win Scenario

The No Win Scenario, both Starfleet and Klingon versions, has been removed from the PvE queue list. With the increase in maximum player level from 50 to 60, we no longer feel this queue is accomplishing its job of providing an intense escalating challenge where players really have to struggle to advance to the later waves. We do have plans to revisit this queue in the near future and rebuild it so it can continue to live up to its name.

Mine Trap

The rewards for successfully completing this PvE queue have been increased by an additional 50% above what they have been previously. Additionally, the failure rewards have been increased by an additional 150% above their existing rewards.

Nukara Prime: Transdimensional Tactics

The rewards for successfully completing the Advanced and Elite versions of this PvE queue have been increased by an additional 100% above what they have been previously (the Normal version’s success rewards remain unchanged). Additionally, the failure rewards for the Normal version of this PvE queue have been increased by an additional 50% above their existing rewards (the Advanced and Elite versions’ failure rewards remain unchanged).

Vault Shuttle Event

We have fixed a bug that was preventing players from accessing the Advanced version of this queue (using the PvE queue window to enter the Advanced version would take you to the Normal version). Additionally, the rewards for successfully completing this PvE queue have been increased by an additional 150% above the existing rewards.

NPC Hitpoint / Shield Bonus Scaling Changes (Advanced and Elite difficulties only)

Shortly after the launch of Delta Rising, we noticed the effects of what turned out to be a mathematical error in the way multiple Hitpoint and Shield buffing passive powers were interacting with one another. This interaction was occurring only on a small number of NPCs which met both of the following criteria:

[INDENT]- Have a passive Hitpoint and/or Shield Buff that increases these pools above what an NPC of their Rank would usually have.
- Are found on Advanced and/or Elite Difficulty maps.[/INDENT]

NPCs meeting both of the above criteria do not scale at the same rate as the rest of the NPCs in the game. These NPCs are mainly the "boss type" NPCs seen in queues, but this change, because of how it interacts with the aforementioned calculations, will effect different NPCs to different extremes.

It will NOT change the Hitpoint/Shield values on any NPC encountered on a Normal Difficulty map. The vast majority of NPCs encountered on Advanced and Elite Difficulty will also see no change, as they do not rely upon additional Hitpoint/Shield boosts other than those supplied by the Difficulty setting.

A few examples of specific high-hitpoint Boss NPCs that will be affected are:
[INDENT]- Tholian Project Leader (Transdimensional Tactics)
- The Spawnmother (Bug Hunt)
- The Borg Queen (Into the Hive, both Space and Ground)
- VSW Implacable (Battle of Korfez)

(It is worth noting that this will not affect the Crystalline Entity, as her scaling is handled in a different manner.)[/INDENT]

One of the most widespread issues that this will resolve, is that NPCs on the Ground that rely upon a hitpoint boost to offset a lack of shields (Undine, Bluegills, Salt Vampires, etc.) will see an across-the-board increase in their health after this change. Although this will end up appearing as a 33-50% increase in maximum hitpoints for these types of enemies on Advanced and Elite difficulty, it will actually bring them in line with every other NPC in the game. We will be monitoring this particular aspect of the changes to see if it must be tuned separately.

For those that are interested, I’ve included a section about the math involved in this change below (titled “The Math”).

Increase to Skillpoints and Expertise from NPC Kills Base on Difficulty Modifier

We will also be increasing the SP and Expertise bonus for NPCs killed in Advanced and Elite mode. Numeric rewards in Advanced difficulty will increase from 125% to 150%, while in Elite difficulty they will increase from 200% to 250%.

Charles Gray & Jeremy Randall
Lead Content Designer, Systems Designer
Star Trek Online

The Math

For clarity's sake, we'll share the full mathematical issue, and its effects. For the purpose of this demonstration, let's use simplified numbers to illustrate the point of how this hitpoint buff interacts with the Difficulty Scaling buffs, and the NPC's base hitpoints (please note these are example values for simplicity, and not the true values in the game).

Base Hitpoints Value = 1
Elite Difficulty Hitpoints Modifier = 3

So here is a simple formula on how a typical NPC would scale:

1 * 3 = 3

So typical critters in Elite mode has 3x as many HP as in Basic mode. Now let's take the Tholian Project Leader as an example. This boss NPC is found in the queue map "Transdimensional Tactics" which can be played at Advanced and Elite setting, and he relies upon a passive Hitpoint Buff. The passive hitpoint buff on this particular NPC has a very high value.

Tholian Project Leader Passive Hitpoint Buff Modifier = 12

Under the existing system, as it currently sits on Holodeck, these figures interact incorrectly. Their mathematical relationship could be presented as:

1 * (3 + 12) = 15

This results in the final Hitpoint value on Elite being far lower proportionally than other NPCs. By design, the equation was expected to be presented as:

(1 * 12) * 3 = 36

As you can see, the difference can be fairly drastic. This particular NPC possesses the highest Hitpoint Buff of any NPC in the entire game and is an extreme example. Most Boss NPCs have buff magnitudes in the 1-5 range, rather than being in the ~12 neighborhood.

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What do you think?

i think they mean xp

hmm well.
recently Gego (STO Lead designer) decided to comment on the situation in the game.

Quote

Hi, This is CaptainGeko (I dont spell my name using GeCko). So if you saw a Capt Gecko (or any other spelling of the name) it isn't me. I don’t play STO using that name. I play anonymously. If you want to verify this is me, you can check my twitter account @CaptainGeko. I'll tweet a link to this reddit.

I am not the content lead, the systems lead or the executive produce. I am the Lead Designer of STO. That means in one form or another, I am responsible for all aspects of the design of the game. I am not responsible for the art, the code, the web, the marketing or even the business of the game - although I do work closely with all those involved with those departments. We all collaborate to bring you the game.

Building a Free to Play MMO is no small task. Its a huge challenge and, for the most part, Cryptic studios is blazing a trail, along with Perfect World, on how to deliver a FTP MMO. There are lots of different models. Some companies will, say, charge for content or expansion packs. STO does not do that. We rely on microtransactions to keep the lights on and bring you this game for free.

Let me say one thing that is very important to me. I love Star Trek, and I love Star Trek Online. If you listen to any of the podcast I go on, such as Priority One, STOked, G&T show, Podcast UGC, Trek Radio, and more, I hope you will get a sense of the passion and respect I have for the IP and the Game. I have been a trekkie since I was probably around 5 years old. My sister introduced me to TOS and all sci-fi. I have seen every episode and every movie multiple times - even before I started working on STO. And I have been working on STO from the very beginning - almost 7 years. I was one of 6 original employees on the projects. I have put a lot of my life into STO. It is my art and it has forever changed me. I've been at Cryptic Studios for 12 years now. Before STO, I worked on Champions, Marvel, and City of Heroes and City of Villains. Before Cryptic, I worked on the Sims Online at Maxis, and before that, I was at Sega.com/Sega soft where I worked on 10SIX, Vigilance and I was involved in the online aspects of a few Dreamcast games.

If you are reading this, you probably are more than an average fan. So I assume you like the game. As the Lead Designer, most design decisions come through me one way or another. Not all the decisions are mine. Like any business, STO exists to try to deliver the best product we can and to get as many people to play as much as possible, and in turn, earn money for the company. As with any game, I realize there are parts of STO that some people don't like. In also know that most people who play STO love the game. If you are reading this, I am going to guess there are more things about STO that you like then there are things that you don't like. If you didn't, that would be strange - I would imagine you would stop playing and stop reading forums and reddits about it.

I sometimes read post that people don't like me because of something in the game. That's ok, it comes with the territory. I would be lying if I said it didn't hurt my feelings, but I have been in the industry long enough to understand things like that are typically only said because someone love the product you are working on or wants more from that product. So in a weird way, even when someone says something mean, its sort of a compliment. Hey, I love my I-phone, but I have more than once cursed the company and the leaders of Apples for the product. Although I love my I-phone, it's not perfect and it still sometimes frustrates me. But I get it - humans made it, humans use it. I am still glad for it and admire those who made it.

When it comes to the business, I have a boss just like everyone else, and he has a boss, and so on. Not everything we do is my decision, but I stand behind everything we have done and I am proud of it. STO is the best game I have ever had the privilege to work on. I hope you love the game as much as I. I suspect there are some here that may even love it more than I. At Star Trek Conventions, I meet some wonderful people who love this game. I have met wonderful fans, men and women, children and adults, people of all races, creeds and colors. I met a young boy who showed me pictures of his STO themed bar mitzvah. I have met people who have dedicated countless hours making videos and podcasts dedicated to STO. And I have even met a couple who lived in different countries, met on STO, and then got married. Those people make it all worth it.

I guess the main point I am trying to make is that I know not everyone loves every aspect of STO, and sometimes I am the scapegoat for that. That's OK. But remember this - If there are design aspects of STO you dont like, I am probably in some way responsible for that. I am sorry you dont like those things. But on the other side, if there is something you love about the game (the story, the systems, the ships, the characters, the missions, the items, the enemies, the Star Trek-iness), I probably had a lot to do with that too. And so did a lot of other talented people. I hope there are more things you love about STO then there are things you don't like. And if you are on this reddit, I am guessing that is true - and that makes me happy. I will always strive to bring you the best Star Trek experience and the best game we can possibly deliver. I appreciate every one of you and I hope you will all play for a very long time.

LLAP

Al "CaptainGeko" Rivera

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well... my reply to this is pretty clear and in many ways reflects the many problems that this game is suffering atm

Quote from swatop;21744081

Im not really sure what to say about "gekos speech".
In one way it looks like finger pointing.... "no no... im not responsible... there are others.... and i also have a boss... and bla bla". On the other side he said that he is involved in nearly every aspect of the game.

Really?
Why do i have the feeling that these statements slightly conflict each other.

Ok, he is the Lead Designer... so... he is responsible for how the game looks like, how the mechanics work and whats in the game... or whats not in the game, right?
(I am also lead designer of game project and thats just about what my job is there)

That means that the massive design problems such as the fact that there is no real balance in this game falls into his responsibility.
Also the fact that Romulans and KDF ALWAYS get less attention than Feds (see ships, see bridges, see story missions)... thats in his responsibility.
The way how the upgrade system is designed.... his responsibility.
Removal of working game content -> story missions... the removal of everything related to exploration...... yep again... his responsibility.
Missions are also his responsibility... and this includes the rewards.

Lead designer... that means he designs all aspects of the game while the other people work to turn these designs into real.
And infact the game design is what has turned into a problem over the past 2 years.
Mostly the fact that game design does not reflect what the players actually want to see in this game.

Players want Star Trek.
They want an environment that they know from decases of Trek. They want to explore this distant worlds.... they boldly want to go where no man has gone before.
This is what players here have voiced over and over again.
But the lead designer - who has the power to make this happen - has decided to ignore this and instead has applied a design that many, many players really dislike.

When I started to play this game 2 1/2 years ago STO had alot more interesting content to offer than it does now.
Alot of content simply has been removed from the game while the newly added content simply isnt worth to be played and often also no fun to play.
This is a matter of game design... and this falls exactly into gekos responsibility.

Lets dont even start to talk about the quality of the game because thats going faster down the drain than the newly added content that nobody wants to play (*cough* club47)

Also the fact that for months players only do patrol missions is a matter of FAILED GAME DESIGN.
Yes... the biggest part of this game has either become unplayable or not worth to be played.
Geko, you have been in charge... you have had the chance to change that. After meanwhile 3 months you showed us that you simply dont care.
I am not even talking about complicated changes that you needed do... the missions were active before... many players used to play them frequently... there was nothing wrong with the missoins before Delta Rising. Your only job would have been to restore the old rewards. That is the only thing that the players requested from you.

I can understand that you have a boss and that you are working for a company that expects to make money with the game.
Like many players I have no problem paying for a good product.
What I dont understand is why the game design is so stupidly done that you and your company are wasting money.
Seriously, you do... you waste money... money that players would gladly pay to you.
Hundreds of times playes have requested Romulan bridge options.... as C-store items. The lead designer of this game could have listened to these requests and cryptic would have earned good money.
How many threads with requests about costume options do we have on the forum?... also totally ignored by the lead designer.... and again no money for cryptic.
There have been requests of specific items put into the c-store -> e.g. red matter capacitor.
Even if you ask 1000 zen for such items... people will spend money to buy them.

But I guess you guys (the ones which do the decisions) have decided "no, we dont want money that players are freely willing to pay.... instead we force the players to give us their money by monetizing everything that was free before".
There is only one bad thing about forcing people to do something.... they get mad.... and mad people tend to leave the game... or they simply refuse to pay for stuff that they would have bought from the c-store under normal conditions.
You are ignoring the players and forcing them to pay.... and the only result you can expect is that you earn less money than before.

And while we are talking about money here right now.
You would earn more money from gold members and lifetime subscibers if such subscriptions would be worth more.
Really you cant convince people to pay by offering playable talaxians (that was almost an insult to the Lifetimers here).

Where else do you waste money?
The endless grind you have introduced lately.... because with all these spec trees and the low xp rewards the players of this game have no time anymore for their alts. Not only that already existing alts are not played anymore... not build up anymore... not equiped with new ships and items..... you certainly have already noticed that players are not purchasing new captain slots like they did before.
You forced players to grind on their main characters.... and many of them wont build up new ones. You dont get zen for captain slots like prior Delta rising.
Same will btw. happen to the boff slots soon.

Oh and btw. Captain slots and Boff slots where part of the benefits for Lifetime subscribers.... so you actually made these subscriptions worth less.... and less attractive to the players.
Yep, again money down the drain.
It is like a house of cards where you try to take away one card from the lower part.
This house of cards is collapsing already and you know that.

Geko, i really hope you (or somebody who has influence on you) will read this.
Do you actually think about the consequences of your design decisions?
Do you?

You are lead designer of the game. Start to do some clever decisions and design the game that the players expect from you.
Return this game to the point where it is Star Trek again.... where it is fun to play again.... where players actually have a reason to pay for something again.

You have said it and you are right... we are here because we like Star Trek... and we are still here because there a more things that we like than things we don't like.
BUT... we have reached the point where the stuff that we like is about 51% while the stuff that we dont like is 49%.
It does not take much more of these stupid game breaking design failures for us to reconsider our position to this game.
Many players made their decision already and left the game.
Geko... it is your job to prevent that more will leave.

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Captain Gecko : sto