Greetings, Captains! You’re listening to EPISODE 197 OF PRIORITY ONE PODCAST, the premier Star Trek Online podcast! This episode was recorded on Thursday, November 6th 2014 and made available for download on Monday, November 10th 2014 at PriorityOnePodcast.com!
Admirals, this week we “Trek Out” the birth of an Alien Planet! In Star Trek Online News, we turn our attention to the Dev Tracker and Patch notes. Later, we present our interview with Star Trek Online’s Lead Writer Christine Kestrel Thompson and Content Designer Kate Bankson. Finally, we’ll open hailing frequencies and review your incoming messages!
Topics Discussed
This week’s Community Question:
What are your thoughts on Delta Rising?
What do you think about the changes to Content Rewards, Ship Mastery, and Content Difficulty.
Let us know YOUR thoughts by commenting below!
In case you missed it, we’ve already published several video interviews on our YouTube Channel from Priority One Podcast’s on-site visit to Cryptic Studios in October 2014. BE SURE TO VISIT OUR CHANNEL AND SUBSCRIBE TO THE PREMIER STAR TREK ONLINE PODCAST!
Captains, if you haven’t already filled out our “Game Ideas” form on our website, check it out at HTTP://PRIORITYONEPODCAST.COM/GAMEIDEAS
and let us know your thoughts!
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Elio is a Northern New Jersey Cuban-American and graduate of Kean University, having earned his Bachelor of Arts in Theatre Performance in 2011. He has performed in internationally renowned performance halls such as Avery Fisher Hall with the New York Philharmonic, as a member of the Westminster Symphonic Choir, and in Beijing, China as a representative for Kean University. Since 2012, he has had the wonderful opportunity to Executive Produce Priority One – the premiere Star Trek Online podcast. Whether recruiting, managing the global team of talented volunteers, arranging interviews with special guests, editing, web-development, finding sponsors, managing crowd funding, or writing content for the podcast, Elio has a hand in it all. A long-time Trekkie, Elio has been watching the series since he was a child and sneaking in late night, back-to-back, episodes of TNG reruns. He finally embraced the Trekdom in college and spent many hours catching up on the entire multiverse…. instead of studying.
In their October 2014 visit to Cryptic Studios, the Priority One Team chats with Brad Stokan (Lead Artist), Ian Castaneda (Character Artists), Joe Jing (Character Artists), Steven Ekholm (Character Artists) […]
Fleet Admiral Winters on 2014-11-13
Hey guys, great episode as always. I want to comment on the issue of alt toons that came up in the show. I have 18 toons in total. Why 18 I hear you ask. Because I like playing all the different factions and classes, and each toon has a completely different build and setup.
However, I probably wouldn’t have as many toons, only for the change to the reputation system when Cryptic added the “Sponsorship Tokens”. Before this change I just didn’t want to go through the grind all over again, on each of my alts to get the Reputation done. It was only after this change that I really started to play my alts and create more.
I’m pretty sure that you guys did an interview with Al at the time too (or close to it) and he said that, up to that point they looked at the character as the customer and they were now looking at the account as the customer. Please correct me if I am wrong (and I apologize Al if I am!)
Anyway, I completely agree with you that it is really difficult to go through Delta Rising and the new systems that came with it having multiple toons. Don’t get me wrong, I think that they have done a great job it but something needs to be done or added similar to the change in the Reputation System.
However I do disagree that any change should be monetized. The change to the Reputation System wasn’t and that encouraged me to “buy” more character slots, Lockbox Keys (for Lobi Crystals), Bank and Inventory Space, Doff packs and I could go on.
I wonder could there be an account unlock once you earn all 60 Specialization Points on 1 character that would let all alt toons on an account earn “times X” more Xp and/or Skill points. I know for myself and others in my Fleet who have multiple toons, we feel that a faster way to earn Specialization Points on alts toons is badly wanted!
Keep up the great work!
Regards,
Winters
seannewboy on 2014-11-13
CQ) I cant wait for them all to come onto the holodeck, about time.
Wonderful episode, thanks Christine and Kate for stopping by.
Fleet Admiral Winters on 2019-01-30
Hey guys, great episode as always. I want to comment on the issue of alt toons that came up in the show. I have 18 toons in total. Why 18 I hear you ask. Because I like playing all the different factions and classes, and each toon has a completely different build and setup.
However, I probably wouldn’t have as many toons, only for the change to the reputation system when Cryptic added the “Sponsorship Tokens”. Before this change I just didn’t want to go through the grind all over again, on each of my alts to get the Reputation done. It was only after this change that I really started to play my alts and create more.
I’m pretty sure that you guys did an interview with Al at the time too (or close to it) and he said that, up to that point they looked at the character as the customer and they were now looking at the account as the customer. Please correct me if I am wrong (and I apologize Al if I am!)
Anyway, I completely agree with you that it is really difficult to go through Delta Rising and the new systems that came with it having multiple toons. Don’t get me wrong, I think that they have done a great job it but something needs to be done or added similar to the change in the Reputation System.
However I do disagree that any change should be monetized. The change to the Reputation System wasn’t and that encouraged me to “buy” more character slots, Lockbox Keys (for Lobi Crystals), Bank and Inventory Space, Doff packs and I could go on.
I wonder could there be an account unlock once you earn all 60 Specialization Points on 1 character that would let all alt toons on an account earn “times X” more Xp and/or Skill points. I know for myself and others in my Fleet who have multiple toons, we feel that a faster way to earn Specialization Points on alts toons is badly wanted!
Keep up the great work!
Regards,
Winters
seannewboy on 2019-01-30
CQ) I cant wait for them all to come onto the holodeck, about time.
Wonderful episode, thanks Christine and Kate for stopping by.
sanokskyrat on 2014-11-12
Ok guys its driving me crazy Zefram Cochrane Shotgun also made second appearance in the ep. It was on the wall (as well as other weapons) in the Captains office of the NX Enterprise.
Archer takes it off the wall and tells T’pal what he thinks of Vulcans and why they are slaves. And how great Zefram Cochrane was. Its a great scene and everyone should re-watch that ep again!
sanokskyrat on 2019-01-30
Ok guys its driving me crazy Zefram Cochrane Shotgun also made second appearance in the ep. It was on the wall (as well as other weapons) in the Captains office of the NX Enterprise.
Archer takes it off the wall and tells T’pal what he thinks of Vulcans and why they are slaves. And how great Zefram Cochrane was. Its a great scene and everyone should re-watch that ep again!
Wardcalis on 2014-11-11
Great show as always, but I find I must make a correction to a statement you made. To get the full width and breath of STO it would take a total of 12 characters, not 9. Fed Romulan and KDF Romulan play very different and have access to much different setups in regards to Fed and Kdf ships and lockbox drops.
Wardcalis on 2019-01-30
Great show as always, but I find I must make a correction to a statement you made. To get the full width and breath of STO it would take a total of 12 characters, not 9. Fed Romulan and KDF Romulan play very different and have access to much different setups in regards to Fed and Kdf ships and lockbox drops.
Antonio on 2014-11-10
what can we expect in the near future
DazoUK on 2014-11-10
Hi p-One team I enjoyed your episode today I have taken it upon my self to start a new toon to see if the lvl gate is the same at 50 in a new toon and at the moment its a lt commander (15) and im 4 lvels in frount of the sotorys I will keep you up to date with the progress but im a casual player that pugs a lot im no noob but I do aggre with the pone team it needs organization to attempt the elite and at the moment advanced I will let you know next Monday to update you on my new toon should be fun
Antonio on 2019-01-30
what can we expect in the near future
starwolf31415 on 2014-11-10
Please leave PUGs and PUG players alone already. There always seems to be this implicit undercurrent that Puggers are just antisocial losers that don’t know how to play.
I am an introvert. This is nothing wrong with that. Extroverts are not the healthy state of affairs, while introverts are somehow unhealthy. Both of these states are just variations of human characteristics.
I do not join fleets or guilds. I have tried this in the past. It makes me uncomfortable. I am a gay man, and I have quit playing a different game recently due to homophobic harassment. In yet another different game, I was harassed as well, years ago, in a different sort of way–in an LGBT guild– which made me feel uncomfortable.
I have some close friends in real life, but I don’t like to pretend that I am close and intimate with random strangers on the internet. There are nice people, helpful people in STO and other online games. Unfortunately, for every nice person, there seems to be a troll, a jerk, or a mean person. Maybe they are just more vocal.
I frequently choose to avoid most of the “social” elements in STO. My chat box is automatically minimized on ESD or other major hubs the vast majority of the time. I am here to go pew-pew at starships and get into the story; I am not here to listen to people argue about religion and politics. I open the box for queues in case there is communication required, what target to focus attack on, etc. Any harassment will cause me to block other players, me minimizing my chat box, or me leaving the instance. I do not play the game, I do not pay for a game in order to deal with jerks online.
Because of my personality and preferences, yes, in many cases, it might be better if I play single player games. I love Star Trek though, and I love Star Trek Online, even though that love has taken a beating from issues in DR (but this is another issue.) I am a LTS with nine characters. So yeah, I guess, I often play STO like it is a single player game. I do know that I am not alone, however. Many introverted people do love certain games, including STO, but don’t always enjoy playing in groups. It takes more energy for us to socialize, and that doesn’t always promote relaxation during game time.
I am a good player, maybe not a super great player, but I have been playing for a while. I do try to improve, even if gradually. I am not completely casual, nor am I new. I am not “hardcore”, or a min-maxer, or a DPS optimiser. I know how to do decent builds, but I enjoy balanced builds that include healing, support, and crowd control. I know well enough to play normal before going to advanced queues. I don’t go into current advanced queues if I know that I can’t hack it. I have no problem trying to cooperate and contribute while in a group queue when I have chosen to be in one. I have decent ships and gear (I’ve spent a stupid amount of money on them, but nevermind). There’s always more upgrading to do now, of course. I don’t play PVP as I feel it is full of over-competitiveness and elitism. I could then be accused of not being good at it, and, eh, that would probably be true.
I know this has gone on for a while, so I will get to a point. Yes, sometimes PUGs have new people, or people that don’t know the strategy, or people that are undergeared. But sometimes there are good players, with good ships, and good builds. People that don’t want to be in a fleet, or participate in fleet activities, for valid reasons. People that know things like the 10% rule for generators in Conduit.
With Delta Rising, significant responsibility lies with the game, and the choices the devs have made, concerning difficulty and failure conditions. Failing queues is aggravating, yes, it’s true. But, please do not default to the dismissive opinion that PUGs are exclusively comprised of “noobs” that need to learn how to play or antisocial losers that should just join a fleet already and get on teamspeak. This is not fair to many of us, and we don’t appreciate it.
Cookiecupcakes on 2014-11-10
For me personally, when I refer to PUGs not working out well, it is because the groups are not pre-organized in advanced with a specific plan of action. In some PVE’s if you do not plan out in advance, it does not go well because It is very difficult to plan in advance during a PUG. I don’t know what we said that gave you the impression that we might think PUGS are “exclusively comprised of “noobs” that need to learn how to play or antisocial losers that should just join a fleet already and get on teamspeak.” But I do not feel that way, and I haven’t heard anyone else on the show express that opinion.
starwolf31415 on 2014-11-10
Thank you for your reply. If I have read too far into things or am being too sensitive, then that all is on me, and not on you guys at all. There are probably a significant amount of players that do think this way, however. Even so, I have to admit, even a few hours later, I am somewhat embarrassed at the novel I wrote. If these sentiments don’t apply to you, please disregard them. Seriously. My apologies. I appreciate Priority One a lot and look forward to it every week. Don’t change for me or anyone else.
Jayce on 2014-11-11
Hey Starwolf, don’t worry about posting a long comment, it was a good read. I agree with you about introversion — public speaking is something I have actively worked on (and had a love-hate relationship with) since my teen years as I am pretty much a hermit in my private life. PUG players are honestly anyone! I’ve pugged a fair amount, especially during events like the Crystalline one where all my friends and fleetmates were constantly running it so at any given time they might already be on cooldown. I might also suggest joining an in-game chat channel like Priority One’s where a person can lurk without necessarily interacting in the channel but join up with mostly premade PVE queue groups too. (/channel_join PriorityOne) Our channel is far less active than redditchat though. I think Elite STF is still around (EliteSTF channel name) and redditchat is very active too. Just some other options!
I’ve definitely complained about PUGs before but a lot of the time one person in the group going off the reservation can be all it takes to fail objectives or a whole mission, so the complaint isn’t really fair as a generalization. So take it with a grain of salt. 🙂 Glad you otherwise enjoyed the show and thanks for writing.
Jayce
starwolf31415 on 2014-11-11
Thank you for your understanding and the information. It is sincerely appreciated.
DazoUK on 2019-01-30
Hi p-One team I enjoyed your episode today I have taken it upon my self to start a new toon to see if the lvl gate is the same at 50 in a new toon and at the moment its a lt commander (15) and im 4 lvels in frount of the sotorys I will keep you up to date with the progress but im a casual player that pugs a lot im no noob but I do aggre with the pone team it needs organization to attempt the elite and at the moment advanced I will let you know next Monday to update you on my new toon should be fun
starwolf31415 on 2019-01-30
Please leave PUGs and PUG players alone already. There always seems to be this implicit undercurrent that Puggers are just antisocial losers that don’t know how to play.
I am an introvert. This is nothing wrong with that. Extroverts are not the healthy state of affairs, while introverts are somehow unhealthy. Both of these states are just variations of human characteristics.
I do not join fleets or guilds. I have tried this in the past. It makes me uncomfortable. I am a gay man, and I have quit playing a different game recently due to homophobic harassment. In yet another different game, I was harassed as well, years ago, in a different sort of way–in an LGBT guild– which made me feel uncomfortable.
I have some close friends in real life, but I don’t like to pretend that I am close and intimate with random strangers on the internet. There are nice people, helpful people in STO and other online games. Unfortunately, for every nice person, there seems to be a troll, a jerk, or a mean person. Maybe they are just more vocal.
I frequently choose to avoid most of the “social” elements in STO. My chat box is automatically minimized on ESD or other major hubs the vast majority of the time. I am here to go pew-pew at starships and get into the story; I am not here to listen to people argue about religion and politics. I open the box for queues in case there is communication required, what target to focus attack on, etc. Any harassment will cause me to block other players, me minimizing my chat box, or me leaving the instance. I do not play the game, I do not pay for a game in order to deal with jerks online.
Because of my personality and preferences, yes, in many cases, it might be better if I play single player games. I love Star Trek though, and I love Star Trek Online, even though that love has taken a beating from issues in DR (but this is another issue.) I am a LTS with nine characters. So yeah, I guess, I often play STO like it is a single player game. I do know that I am not alone, however. Many introverted people do love certain games, including STO, but don’t always enjoy playing in groups. It takes more energy for us to socialize, and that doesn’t always promote relaxation during game time.
I am a good player, maybe not a super great player, but I have been playing for a while. I do try to improve, even if gradually. I am not completely casual, nor am I new. I am not “hardcore”, or a min-maxer, or a DPS optimiser. I know how to do decent builds, but I enjoy balanced builds that include healing, support, and crowd control. I know well enough to play normal before going to advanced queues. I don’t go into current advanced queues if I know that I can’t hack it. I have no problem trying to cooperate and contribute while in a group queue when I have chosen to be in one. I have decent ships and gear (I’ve spent a stupid amount of money on them, but nevermind). There’s always more upgrading to do now, of course. I don’t play PVP as I feel it is full of over-competitiveness and elitism. I could then be accused of not being good at it, and, eh, that would probably be true.
I know this has gone on for a while, so I will get to a point. Yes, sometimes PUGs have new people, or people that don’t know the strategy, or people that are undergeared. But sometimes there are good players, with good ships, and good builds. People that don’t want to be in a fleet, or participate in fleet activities, for valid reasons. People that know things like the 10% rule for generators in Conduit.
With Delta Rising, significant responsibility lies with the game, and the choices the devs have made, concerning difficulty and failure conditions. Failing queues is aggravating, yes, it’s true. But, please do not default to the dismissive opinion that PUGs are exclusively comprised of “noobs” that need to learn how to play or antisocial losers that should just join a fleet already and get on teamspeak. This is not fair to many of us, and we don’t appreciate it.
Cookiecupcakes on 2019-01-30
For me personally, when I refer to PUGs not working out well, it is because the groups are not pre-organized in advanced with a specific plan of action. In some PVE’s if you do not plan out in advance, it does not go well because It is very difficult to plan in advance during a PUG. I don’t know what we said that gave you the impression that we might think PUGS are “exclusively comprised of “noobs” that need to learn how to play or antisocial losers that should just join a fleet already and get on teamspeak.” But I do not feel that way, and I haven’t heard anyone else on the show express that opinion.
starwolf31415 on 2019-01-30
Thank you for your reply. If I have read too far into things or am being too sensitive, then that all is on me, and not on you guys at all. There are probably a significant amount of players that do think this way, however. Even so, I have to admit, even a few hours later, I am somewhat embarrassed at the novel I wrote. If these sentiments don’t apply to you, please disregard them. Seriously. My apologies. I appreciate Priority One a lot and look forward to it every week. Don’t change for me or anyone else.
Jayce on 2019-01-30
Hey Starwolf, don’t worry about posting a long comment, it was a good read. I agree with you about introversion — public speaking is something I have actively worked on (and had a love-hate relationship with) since my teen years as I am pretty much a hermit in my private life. PUG players are honestly anyone! I’ve pugged a fair amount, especially during events like the Crystalline one where all my friends and fleetmates were constantly running it so at any given time they might already be on cooldown. I might also suggest joining an in-game chat channel like Priority One’s where a person can lurk without necessarily interacting in the channel but join up with mostly premade PVE queue groups too. (/channel_join PriorityOne) Our channel is far less active than redditchat though. I think Elite STF is still around (EliteSTF channel name) and redditchat is very active too. Just some other options!
I’ve definitely complained about PUGs before but a lot of the time one person in the group going off the reservation can be all it takes to fail objectives or a whole mission, so the complaint isn’t really fair as a generalization. So take it with a grain of salt. 🙂 Glad you otherwise enjoyed the show and thanks for writing.
Jayce
starwolf31415 on 2019-01-30
Thank you for your understanding and the information. It is sincerely appreciated.
Comments are closed.