I should’ve just waited one more day: Specialization Points Restored
It’s been a week – the “fire” is dying down and most people have begun moving on with their lives. There isn’t a point for us to include it as part of a discussion on the show. Still, I keep getting messages from listeners asking “why” we haven’t addressed the hot topic. Now, I have read some imaginative comments from people; and since I have a platform from which to rant, I figured I’d write something up for those who keep asking….
STEAM is the best way to measure Metrics…
For starters, the most imaginative opinion are those referencing STEAM Charts when comparing Delta Rising (DR) with Legacy of Romulus (LoR).
A) PWE has been aggressively pushing players to download their proprietary Arc Portal. Promo Codes don’t work unless you have the Arc client installed. So, naturally, people have migrated to the PWE Portal.
B) We know – with certainty – that there is a huge chunk of the player base that are NOT avid gamers; but, most only play STO (and only STO) because it is a Star Trek Game… Listen to our interview with ZeroneousRex in episode 195 when she discusses the surprising hardware statistics from the player base.
C) Your circle of immediate friends that you keep referring to as “ALL using Steam” does NOT represent the global community of gaming. Again – I refer you to my previous point.
Cryptic & PWE are only in it for the Benjamins…
The other thing I keep reading over and over again is that Cryptic & PWE are developing for nothing but cash grabs. I’ve described myself, time and again, to be a “middle-class” player. I’m somewhere between the gamer that plays hours per day, has 30 alts, and countless ships; and, the other gamer that picks their weapons based on their pretty color. So… I did some math…
If I paid for a monthly subscription to Star Trek Online, that would total about $180 per year. Instead, I got a lifetime membership; which can be purchased at $199. So if you’ve been playing for 4 years, the lifetime membership has already paid for itself within the first year.
When it comes to competitiveness, I want my ship geared up with the new hotness as soon as humanly possible. I’m not going to spend the time to grind for the Dilithum Ore, and wait for it to convert, then convert it to Zen… I want it NOW and I’m going to spend some extra cash because I’m not paying $15 a month. So I spend $25 on a STEAM Pre-Paid card during a bonus ZEN event, then wait some time for a Key Sale, buy Keys, sell them on the exchange, and convert that to EC. In this case, to deck out the weapons on my main ship to Mark XIV, I’m going to need to spend a little over 100MIL EC — which is the same amount I would spend on a lockbox ship that I might be interested in (like my Temporal Destroyer).
How often do I go and do this?… Maybe 2 or 3 times a year; and, I still feel like I have a competitive edge. That means PWE & Cryptic is only getting about $75 a year from me — a podcaster that covers their game from week to week for the last 3 years.… That’s still about $80 LESS than I would pay yearly if I subscribed in a old-fashioned MMO model. Here’s a very crude and rudimentary comparison (but, still accurate):
Conventional Model: $15 per month + $60 expansions per year = $240 every year (not including in-game purchases)
vs.
$199 for a lifetime + Free Expansions + ~$80 per year to still feel like a competitive player = <$240 per year
I’m also going to end it with: I don’t treat these companies like a non-profit organization. I expect them to try to sell me products and entice me to spend money. Sometimes I do, and sometimes I don’t. More often than not, I don’t because the product doesn’t entice me.
THE EXPLOIT
The other big point that you’ve been interested to hear us rant about is how Cryptic handled the power-levelers that took advantage of the system…..
When it comes to the community reaction to how Cryptic handled these exploiters, one point I keep reading is that Cryptic was informed of the exploit during Tribble testing before the launch of DR. So, that means, people knew that the system wasn’t supposed to work in that way. That’s like — Hey, this diamond ring (that doesn’t belong to me) is just sitting here in the open…… //looks both ways and GRABs IT// You knew it wasn’t yours… you knew it was wrong to take it and claim it as your own! Yet, you’re upset when the authorities come knockin’ on your door to take back something that wasn’t supposed to be yours?! But wait… instead of dragging you to jail, the authorities just took back the diamond…. In this case, your Specializations (and only specializations) got rolled back to 10…. You weren’t rolled back to lvl 50… All that phat dilithium didn’t go away… So y u mad, bruh?
IN CLOSING
Now, I’m going to say something really important here. But I know I’ve enraged so many of you already that it probably won’t register and you will boycott this show just like you threatened to boycott STO… Priority One Podcast is a FAN-CAST — We’re not getting a paycheck for doing this show. We’re not getting secret codes from PWE! The codes that have been graciously donated to us are for Priority One Podcast to give away to our listeners for special in-game events.
On a personal note: Guess how I got my Delta Operations pack?… I paid for that sucker myself out of my own pocket… And why do I produce this show every week… for nearly 200 episodes?! Because I LOVE Star Trek and I LOVE Star Trek Online…
So, when it boils down to it, I’m not mad that they took away your precious Spec Points; because, as far as I’m concerned, you got off easy for playing the system like you did — and making ME feel like the inadequate or novice player lagging behind you just because I chose not to find the sketchiest way to the end. Not only did you get off easy but, because some of you abused the system, they also took away my Dilithium rewards that incentivized gameplay after maxing out my toon. So again, they didn’t roll players back to 50, they didn’t take away dilithium, and they didn’t ban players…. They punished me because exploiters couldn’t let me have nice things. (Note: When I say, “me” I refer to all players that did not abuse the system)
You asked for my opinion. For many of you, it’s not the one you wanted to hear… and you’ll again, accuse Priority One Podcast of being Cryptic Boot-Lickers. But, guess what?… That’s fine… Cuz I’ll keep playing STO till the servers shut down… and I’ll keep podcasting because I love that STO brings me the Star Trek fix I need.
Delta Rising – Our Thoughts
Again, you’re probably so red with rage right now that you’re going to ignore the following: I DO NOT believe that the expansion is all sunshine and roses. As a matter of fact, I agree with some of the more constructive reviews I’ve been reading (i.e. XP rate, level-locked story-content, PvE penalties & rewards, etc). But for our initial opinions about Delta Rising, you’re going to have to listen to episode 196 of Priority One Podcast due to release on Monday, November 3rd.
Nevertheless, the opinion that Cryptic and PWE don’t give a crap about the community couldn’t be farther from the truth. I’ve been there. I’ve seen it. I’ve spoken to these people and they do – in fact – care very much about how players feel about the game they work tirelessly to craft. Guess who’s not getting paid to say that — this guy!
– Elijah
Executive Producer / Priority One Podcast
P.S. This is Elijah talking and sharing his editorial opinion. A great deal of this article is my own personal opinion (since many of you asked). A good chunk of this article is not speaking on behalf of Jayce, Cookie, or any other member of the Priority One Podcast team.
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.
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Darren Kitlor on 2014-11-10
>Elijah wote: “We talk about the game and its features. Not drama.”
Is that a joke? This entire rant was ALL drama. Oh, but this isn’t the show, this is just a blog so it doesn’t count, right? Ok then, try this on for size: how long ago was it that you spent a couple of episodes of the SHOW ranting about the official forums because you didn’t like how some people behaved? That had absolutely nothing to do with “the game and its features”, that was ALL drama.
So you definitely DO discuss drama…when it suits your agenda. You have no problem at all talking about drama if it makes the community look bad, but you simply refuse to talk about drama if it reflects negatively on the devs in any way.
Elijah on 2014-11-10
You’re grasping at strings and comparing apples to oranges. In the episodes you are referring to, I called out members of the community that painted comparisons to radical terrorists groups and wished death upon other human beings. THAT is something worth addressing.
Darren Kitlor on 2019-01-30
>Elijah wote: “We talk about the game and its features. Not drama.”
Is that a joke? This entire rant was ALL drama. Oh, but this isn’t the show, this is just a blog so it doesn’t count, right? Ok then, try this on for size: how long ago was it that you spent a couple of episodes of the SHOW ranting about the official forums because you didn’t like how some people behaved? That had absolutely nothing to do with “the game and its features”, that was ALL drama.
So you definitely DO discuss drama…when it suits your agenda. You have no problem at all talking about drama if it makes the community look bad, but you simply refuse to talk about drama if it reflects negatively on the devs in any way.
Elijah on 2019-01-30
You’re grasping at strings and comparing apples to oranges. In the episodes you are referring to, I called out members of the community that painted comparisons to radical terrorists groups and wished death upon other human beings. THAT is something worth addressing.
Darren Kitlor on 2014-11-10
@Elijah wrote: “I should’ve just waited one more day: Specialization Points Restored”
Really? That’s all you have to say on that issue? Why didn’t you write several paragraphs talking about how the devs claimed that no innocent people were being penalized, making the ones that were sound like liars, and then suddenly changed their minds? It is this kind of thing that makes it look like you don’t even want to have a fair discussion. You are quick to bash the community when they act badly, but you have very little to say when the devs actually screw the pooch. Sadly I am reminded of FOX News.
@Matt Miracle wrote: “I listen to the podcast for information. If I want to get “Cryptic bashing” I can go to the forums where there are tons of it.”
I also listen to this podcast for information. Unfortunately the information seems to be one sided. They have yet to mention the information about the executive producer explaining how they were wrong about innocent people being affected by their exploit fix, nor how they decided to give the guilty people their points back because they didn’t feel like sorting through the mess they created. Why is this information not being discussed at all? They don’t have to ‘bash’ the devs to discuss what happened.
Elijah on 2014-11-10
Did you not read the last several paragraphs of the article or did you stop when you got to a point that didn’t settle well with you? FOX News, CNN, MSNBC, The Onion… Whatever choose, we are neither of them. We are not journalists. We talk about the game and its features. Not drama.
Darren Kitlor on 2019-01-30
@Elijah wrote: “I should’ve just waited one more day: Specialization Points Restored”
Really? That’s all you have to say on that issue? Why didn’t you write several paragraphs talking about how the devs claimed that no innocent people were being penalized, making the ones that were sound like liars, and then suddenly changed their minds? It is this kind of thing that makes it look like you don’t even want to have a fair discussion. You are quick to bash the community when they act badly, but you have very little to say when the devs actually screw the pooch. Sadly I am reminded of FOX News.
@Matt Miracle wrote: “I listen to the podcast for information. If I want to get “Cryptic bashing” I can go to the forums where there are tons of it.”
I also listen to this podcast for information. Unfortunately the information seems to be one sided. They have yet to mention the information about the executive producer explaining how they were wrong about innocent people being affected by their exploit fix, nor how they decided to give the guilty people their points back because they didn’t feel like sorting through the mess they created. Why is this information not being discussed at all? They don’t have to ‘bash’ the devs to discuss what happened.
Elijah on 2019-01-30
Did you not read the last several paragraphs of the article or did you stop when you got to a point that didn’t settle well with you? FOX News, CNN, MSNBC, The Onion… Whatever choose, we are neither of them. We are not journalists. We talk about the game and its features. Not drama.
Matt Miracle on 2014-11-05
Elijah,
I’m in agreement with a lot of what you have said in the “rant” posting.
My thoughts ….
On the issue about the exploit. Yes, it was reported but “how” was it communicated to the devs? Via the forums? When I look at the forums I see mostly ranting with VERY few constructive ideas. It seems like the forums are [RANT]x9 [Good Feedback]x1 [RANT]x4 [Good Feedback]x1, etc. So it could have easily been missed. I just looked at the forums post about the latest P1 episode, I read “maybe” 5 posts in their entirety. Why, when you start out bashing and saying someone didn’t do this that and the other, I skip it. When a poster starts negative, it is rarely redeemed (IMHO). I even skip posters based on the fact that 9/10 times they are just rant laced with no substance. I think THAT is the problem with the community and not Cryptic. Remember when we had nice things until the community took them as “promises” even when they were NEVER stated as a promise?
On the subject of communication. Yes, they could have done a better job starting after the Thursday patch was finished. IMHO, if D’Angelo had made his post then, I think it would have caused less of a firestorm. But to err is to be human and as I say, “Live and Learn (and then get Loves)” [diaper commercial from years ago].
The “XP Nerf.” This is where I’m a bit red (probably one of the lighter shades of red). Before the patch, Elite NPC ships were a decent way to get XP (as you mentioned in podcast 196). After the patch and resulting flames, I did my own investigation. I took a patrol mission in Beta Ursa that I had not done previously and set it on normal. I killed the first ship noting my XP and the hit points and left. Drop the missions and did the same thing on Elite. The results, when compared to normal the Elite was 6 (almost 7) times more Hull but ONLY 2x (actually like 1.95) more XP. I would be happy if the XP multiplier was 3X versus the 6 (again almost 7) times the HP.
“PWE/Cryptic is just in it for the money”. DUH!!!!! I haven’t see a single thing that has been said otherwise. Everyone has to make money. Buy what you can and GRIND for the rest. There are no pay-walls in STO unlike other games so yes, it may take you a bit longer to get enough Dilithium to get something you want. It took me working at my job and deciding NOT to go our for a lunch (bring lunch to work) for that shame shiny. Now, if you REALLY want to look at a company (or industry) that goes after every penny, look no further than to banks and Credit Card companies. $6/mon for a account under a daily balance of $1,000? $30/yr annual fee for a CC?
Personal attacks against the Devs. TOTALLY UNCALLED FOR!!!! The internet is not a blank mask that you can hide your face behind and treat people like *&^%. All it took for me was to be on Level 1 phone support (which I was for 2 years) to realize that people think that just because you are not taking to them face to face, you don’t have to be polite. Even when I am Blood red with rage, I recall that I was once on the other end of the phone and how I felt when someone chewed my *&^ just because I worked for X company and they had a issue.
“Asking the ‘Hard’ Questions. I love how this always gets brought up. P1 (again IMHO) is not TMZ or investigating corruption. If you want a confrontational podcast about STO, P1 is not for you. I respect how they conduct themselves in the interviews and not attack the Devs. I listen to the podcast for information. If I want to get “Cryptic bashing” I can go to the forums where there are tons of it.
Matt Miracle
Matt Miracle on 2019-01-30
Elijah,
I’m in agreement with a lot of what you have said in the “rant” posting.
My thoughts ….
On the issue about the exploit. Yes, it was reported but “how” was it communicated to the devs? Via the forums? When I look at the forums I see mostly ranting with VERY few constructive ideas. It seems like the forums are [RANT]x9 [Good Feedback]x1 [RANT]x4 [Good Feedback]x1, etc. So it could have easily been missed. I just looked at the forums post about the latest P1 episode, I read “maybe” 5 posts in their entirety. Why, when you start out bashing and saying someone didn’t do this that and the other, I skip it. When a poster starts negative, it is rarely redeemed (IMHO). I even skip posters based on the fact that 9/10 times they are just rant laced with no substance. I think THAT is the problem with the community and not Cryptic. Remember when we had nice things until the community took them as “promises” even when they were NEVER stated as a promise?
On the subject of communication. Yes, they could have done a better job starting after the Thursday patch was finished. IMHO, if D’Angelo had made his post then, I think it would have caused less of a firestorm. But to err is to be human and as I say, “Live and Learn (and then get Loves)” [diaper commercial from years ago].
The “XP Nerf.” This is where I’m a bit red (probably one of the lighter shades of red). Before the patch, Elite NPC ships were a decent way to get XP (as you mentioned in podcast 196). After the patch and resulting flames, I did my own investigation. I took a patrol mission in Beta Ursa that I had not done previously and set it on normal. I killed the first ship noting my XP and the hit points and left. Drop the missions and did the same thing on Elite. The results, when compared to normal the Elite was 6 (almost 7) times more Hull but ONLY 2x (actually like 1.95) more XP. I would be happy if the XP multiplier was 3X versus the 6 (again almost 7) times the HP.
“PWE/Cryptic is just in it for the money”. DUH!!!!! I haven’t see a single thing that has been said otherwise. Everyone has to make money. Buy what you can and GRIND for the rest. There are no pay-walls in STO unlike other games so yes, it may take you a bit longer to get enough Dilithium to get something you want. It took me working at my job and deciding NOT to go our for a lunch (bring lunch to work) for that shame shiny. Now, if you REALLY want to look at a company (or industry) that goes after every penny, look no further than to banks and Credit Card companies. $6/mon for a account under a daily balance of $1,000? $30/yr annual fee for a CC?
Personal attacks against the Devs. TOTALLY UNCALLED FOR!!!! The internet is not a blank mask that you can hide your face behind and treat people like *&^%. All it took for me was to be on Level 1 phone support (which I was for 2 years) to realize that people think that just because you are not taking to them face to face, you don’t have to be polite. Even when I am Blood red with rage, I recall that I was once on the other end of the phone and how I felt when someone chewed my *&^ just because I worked for X company and they had a issue.
“Asking the ‘Hard’ Questions. I love how this always gets brought up. P1 (again IMHO) is not TMZ or investigating corruption. If you want a confrontational podcast about STO, P1 is not for you. I respect how they conduct themselves in the interviews and not attack the Devs. I listen to the podcast for information. If I want to get “Cryptic bashing” I can go to the forums where there are tons of it.
Matt Miracle
Daniel Kochheiser on 2014-11-04
I have some comments regarding your rant, Elijah.
First, Cryptic and the “Money Grab”…They are a company. I expect them to monetize whatever they think they can get away with. And learn when they have overstepped the bounds and back off it. Other than that, I have no issues with it as it stands. Nothing in the game is walled off by money. Just effort and time is all that is needed.
Secondly, the Exploit and its treatment in the game. I hear what you said but I disagree with certain points. The fact that people reported the “exploit” does not make it an exploit. People informed them about what they think is a possible exploit. Cryptic did not respond that it was or wasn’t an exploit. At that point, most people will think that the found condition is working as intended and an allowed action and proceed to use it. When DR was officially released, and that was not modified in any way, it would appear that Cryptic believes this is working as intended or don’t consider it an issue of note, especially when they never acknowledge. It is only natural for players to make use of every advantage they can find to get ahead in a game. This reported advantage was never officially commented on until they decided it was being abused. And then they punished the player base for doing what comes natural players, AFTER they reported it as a possible exploit. This issue was purely Cryptic’s fault from their lack of communication to their lack of action till it became a problem that couldn’t ignore anymore. They made the situation and then punished the very players that tried to get them to change it. I am more upset with Cryptic’s mishandling of this situation than I am of any true exploiters.
As for me, I was not a person who was affected by the exploit. MY leveling has come from either doing the new DR content or running the queues. The only money I have personally spent on this game has been with by the lifetime membership. I have used money on anything else. I did get the Delta Pack from winning it on one of the Live Streams. And I have acquired other ships and costumes from gifts from fleet mates or zen purchases with my stipend or from Dilithium to Zen exchanges. I am a casual player who plays maybe 2 to 4 hours a night normally. And I have multiple characters to do it with. I enjoyed the days when in 2 hour session I could play three of my characters and get somewhere. Now I can get one character worked on and maybe not actually progress at all.
I don’t believe that Cryptic doesn’t care about its players and forum posters. I believe they just don’t know how to deal with its players and forum posters in any consistently positive way. I also don’t think they really understand how to review posters comments and dig out the gold nuggets to improve the game and curb the negative game play before it becomes the level that the exploit had become.
I think the game is moving to far away from the casual experience for casual players to feel effect and empowered. And they need to re-aligned their game and approach to include this style of play.
@Retissal "Namreef" on 2014-11-04
I’m confused as to why this is offensive to people’s sensibilities. It’s literally called a ‘rant’. It is explicit that he is voicing his own opinions; yet, because he didn’t cater the tone to a general audience piece, that’s enough to say he’s still a loser [in the “debate”(?)] even with his valid points? This is problematic to me.
To suggest that this wasn’t productive or a proper substitute for conversation on the podcast is problematic for me as well. This is a monumental issue with forums, podcasts, YouTube videos, articles, etc. sharing everyone’s “well I think” statements. What more could a discussion on P1 really add to it all? We’ll likely hear everyone’s differing opinions (and I assume the same sentiments from Elijah) which will likely span the spectrum of opinions expressed in the aforementioned outlets. Which will result in more of these kinds of “you’re wrong/right” comments. He stated that he reluctantly wrote this; I now see why.
People wanted to know what he thought, there ya have it.
Daniel Kochheiser on 2019-01-30
I have some comments regarding your rant, Elijah.
First, Cryptic and the “Money Grab”…They are a company. I expect them to monetize whatever they think they can get away with. And learn when they have overstepped the bounds and back off it. Other than that, I have no issues with it as it stands. Nothing in the game is walled off by money. Just effort and time is all that is needed.
Secondly, the Exploit and its treatment in the game. I hear what you said but I disagree with certain points. The fact that people reported the “exploit” does not make it an exploit. People informed them about what they think is a possible exploit. Cryptic did not respond that it was or wasn’t an exploit. At that point, most people will think that the found condition is working as intended and an allowed action and proceed to use it. When DR was officially released, and that was not modified in any way, it would appear that Cryptic believes this is working as intended or don’t consider it an issue of note, especially when they never acknowledge. It is only natural for players to make use of every advantage they can find to get ahead in a game. This reported advantage was never officially commented on until they decided it was being abused. And then they punished the player base for doing what comes natural players, AFTER they reported it as a possible exploit. This issue was purely Cryptic’s fault from their lack of communication to their lack of action till it became a problem that couldn’t ignore anymore. They made the situation and then punished the very players that tried to get them to change it. I am more upset with Cryptic’s mishandling of this situation than I am of any true exploiters.
As for me, I was not a person who was affected by the exploit. MY leveling has come from either doing the new DR content or running the queues. The only money I have personally spent on this game has been with by the lifetime membership. I have used money on anything else. I did get the Delta Pack from winning it on one of the Live Streams. And I have acquired other ships and costumes from gifts from fleet mates or zen purchases with my stipend or from Dilithium to Zen exchanges. I am a casual player who plays maybe 2 to 4 hours a night normally. And I have multiple characters to do it with. I enjoyed the days when in 2 hour session I could play three of my characters and get somewhere. Now I can get one character worked on and maybe not actually progress at all.
I don’t believe that Cryptic doesn’t care about its players and forum posters. I believe they just don’t know how to deal with its players and forum posters in any consistently positive way. I also don’t think they really understand how to review posters comments and dig out the gold nuggets to improve the game and curb the negative game play before it becomes the level that the exploit had become.
I think the game is moving to far away from the casual experience for casual players to feel effect and empowered. And they need to re-aligned their game and approach to include this style of play.
@Retissal "Namreef" on 2019-01-30
I’m confused as to why this is offensive to people’s sensibilities. It’s literally called a ‘rant’. It is explicit that he is voicing his own opinions; yet, because he didn’t cater the tone to a general audience piece, that’s enough to say he’s still a loser [in the “debate”(?)] even with his valid points? This is problematic to me.
To suggest that this wasn’t productive or a proper substitute for conversation on the podcast is problematic for me as well. This is a monumental issue with forums, podcasts, YouTube videos, articles, etc. sharing everyone’s “well I think” statements. What more could a discussion on P1 really add to it all? We’ll likely hear everyone’s differing opinions (and I assume the same sentiments from Elijah) which will likely span the spectrum of opinions expressed in the aforementioned outlets. Which will result in more of these kinds of “you’re wrong/right” comments. He stated that he reluctantly wrote this; I now see why.
People wanted to know what he thought, there ya have it.
David Desjardins (@creativegeek_ca) on 2014-11-03
I can agree with you not wanting to fan flames. But the simple inexplicable truth is that the casual player no longer has a role in this game.
I’m not a F2P player. And yet I’m as angry or more so. Yes, a grind is to be expected. Yes you need to upgrade your gear occasionally. Yes, it will take time for players to adjust.
But if the game is empty, as the queues nearly are – what is the point of playing.
Not everyone can afford to drop $70 worth of dilithium and ec to upgrade 1 ship. And thats without playing the nearly impossible ‘advanced’ levels now.
The changes over the course of the last 60 days have impacted everything negatively. All of the awesome content in the world (it was good) won’t improve a game where the casual player does not want to play.
Ken on 2014-11-03
My thoughts on your rant’s topics (and I’ll try to be coherent and civil):
I think the previous podcast/video regarding “shippable” bugs sums up why they didn’t fix the ‘exploit’. They were under some pretty intense pressure to ship on time, and who knows what else they had to fix to make sure the game was even playable. That’s the nature of the MMO beast. This wouldn’t be the first time an exploit or leveling bug snuck into an expansion.
I also will cut them some slack on their response – I would be shocked if they weren’t a little overtaxed, overworked, and a littl short because of it, but the response could/should have been better. Ignoring the human element on either side can just fan the flames.
In regards to your post about the math and value proposition, I would substract the 60 dollar per year expansion. It’s really an every other year type of thing in my experience. However, the Delta Rising expansion was free…if you spent 30 real dollars on stuff to play it, that’s still a good value.
In regards to the content gating, I don’t see that big of an issue. If you progress purely on normal, you will hit a few spots of needing half a level or so. That is prime opportunity to either do the PVE queues, or visit older reps like nukara or defera. It’s nice not having older areas be utter ghost towns as it tends to happen. You can’t stay in the new area for the entire leveling cycle, but there are benefits from having to do other things.
The rest of the issues players seem to be having could really be ameliorated by the ability to get upgrade kits for marks and increasing the dilithium refinement amount, rather than fixate on ore rewards. They could give out more ore, but unless you can refine more, you are still capped. They could put out more content, but if they expect you to have mark XIII or XIV gear to do it without depending on luck, they need to make the gear a little more accessible to a casual. Right now, the cost to upgrade is astronomical, and it’s skewed towards a percentage of the player base too heavily in my opinion.
David Desjardins (@creativegee on 2019-01-30
I can agree with you not wanting to fan flames. But the simple inexplicable truth is that the casual player no longer has a role in this game.
I’m not a F2P player. And yet I’m as angry or more so. Yes, a grind is to be expected. Yes you need to upgrade your gear occasionally. Yes, it will take time for players to adjust.
But if the game is empty, as the queues nearly are – what is the point of playing.
Not everyone can afford to drop $70 worth of dilithium and ec to upgrade 1 ship. And thats without playing the nearly impossible ‘advanced’ levels now.
The changes over the course of the last 60 days have impacted everything negatively. All of the awesome content in the world (it was good) won’t improve a game where the casual player does not want to play.
Ken on 2019-01-30
My thoughts on your rant’s topics (and I’ll try to be coherent and civil):
I think the previous podcast/video regarding “shippable” bugs sums up why they didn’t fix the ‘exploit’. They were under some pretty intense pressure to ship on time, and who knows what else they had to fix to make sure the game was even playable. That’s the nature of the MMO beast. This wouldn’t be the first time an exploit or leveling bug snuck into an expansion.
I also will cut them some slack on their response – I would be shocked if they weren’t a little overtaxed, overworked, and a littl short because of it, but the response could/should have been better. Ignoring the human element on either side can just fan the flames.
In regards to your post about the math and value proposition, I would substract the 60 dollar per year expansion. It’s really an every other year type of thing in my experience. However, the Delta Rising expansion was free…if you spent 30 real dollars on stuff to play it, that’s still a good value.
In regards to the content gating, I don’t see that big of an issue. If you progress purely on normal, you will hit a few spots of needing half a level or so. That is prime opportunity to either do the PVE queues, or visit older reps like nukara or defera. It’s nice not having older areas be utter ghost towns as it tends to happen. You can’t stay in the new area for the entire leveling cycle, but there are benefits from having to do other things.
The rest of the issues players seem to be having could really be ameliorated by the ability to get upgrade kits for marks and increasing the dilithium refinement amount, rather than fixate on ore rewards. They could give out more ore, but unless you can refine more, you are still capped. They could put out more content, but if they expect you to have mark XIII or XIV gear to do it without depending on luck, they need to make the gear a little more accessible to a casual. Right now, the cost to upgrade is astronomical, and it’s skewed towards a percentage of the player base too heavily in my opinion.
thatg4merchik on 2014-11-02
I hate to say this, but I am really disappointed in your Elijah. The tone of this post makes you sound like a jerk, not like the cool podcast host I know you really are. The sad thing is, the actual points you are making are sound, but when you have to sound like a jerk to make your point you are still a loser in the end. I’m going to give you a pass on this and just assume you were blowing off steam, but in the future I can only hope you don’t resort talking down to people and sounding like this in future pieces.
Elijah on 2014-11-02
I’m sorry — But, calling me a jerk and a loser doesn’t really help me learn from the experience. I didn’t write this Op-Ed any different than I would a normal rant on the show. What about it made you feel like I was talking down to you? Did you feel personally attacked?
thatg4merchik on 2014-11-02
Oh Elijah. I didn’t say you were a jerk. I said the tone of this post makes you SOUND like a jerk, not like the COOL PODCAST HOST I know you really are. Did you not read that part or ignore it on purpose so you could say I called you a jerk? Anyway, as I read your article I felt the same nasty/slimy tone I get reading a lot of posts over on the official forums, and unfortunately a nasty/slimy tone ruins even good points. You seem to get very sarcastic and snippy with people when they don’t like something you say, but that is just lowering yourself to the same level. You made a few similar posts a while back on the official forums in response to some people’s comments, although I can’t remember anything more than just being disappointed when I read them. I get the same feeling reading this rant, but I guess if it makes you feel better then that’s all that matters. Or something.
The_Grand_Nagus on 2014-11-02
I dont think this rant was very productive or a substitute for discussion on the actual podcast, but I also think you are reading more into it than is actually there. I dont see any specific comments that are rude or demeaning, and if you are going to keep claiming that then its time you go ahead and provide some specific quotes instead of vague general statements that can neither be confirmed or denied.
thatg4merchik on 2019-01-30
I hate to say this, but I am really disappointed in your Elijah. The tone of this post makes you sound like a jerk, not like the cool podcast host I know you really are. The sad thing is, the actual points you are making are sound, but when you have to sound like a jerk to make your point you are still a loser in the end. I’m going to give you a pass on this and just assume you were blowing off steam, but in the future I can only hope you don’t resort talking down to people and sounding like this in future pieces.
Elijah on 2019-01-30
I’m sorry — But, calling me a jerk and a loser doesn’t really help me learn from the experience. I didn’t write this Op-Ed any different than I would a normal rant on the show. What about it made you feel like I was talking down to you? Did you feel personally attacked?
thatg4merchik on 2019-01-30
Oh Elijah. I didn’t say you were a jerk. I said the tone of this post makes you SOUND like a jerk, not like the COOL PODCAST HOST I know you really are. Did you not read that part or ignore it on purpose so you could say I called you a jerk? Anyway, as I read your article I felt the same nasty/slimy tone I get reading a lot of posts over on the official forums, and unfortunately a nasty/slimy tone ruins even good points. You seem to get very sarcastic and snippy with people when they don’t like something you say, but that is just lowering yourself to the same level. You made a few similar posts a while back on the official forums in response to some people’s comments, although I can’t remember anything more than just being disappointed when I read them. I get the same feeling reading this rant, but I guess if it makes you feel better then that’s all that matters. Or something.
The_Grand_Nagus on 2019-01-30
I dont think this rant was very productive or a substitute for discussion on the actual podcast, but I also think you are reading more into it than is actually there. I dont see any specific comments that are rude or demeaning, and if you are going to keep claiming that then its time you go ahead and provide some specific quotes instead of vague general statements that can neither be confirmed or denied.
Aelfwin on 2014-10-31
OK, I’ve read it all and I’m only half red in the face . 🙂
I have 2 responses , so I’ll start with the less important one :
You have not seen Zone chat in Sector space so active since before the queue system was introduced and we were calling for teams for STF’s in Gamma Orianis . The Japori thing was by large done by many many players , most of whom were and are totally oblivious to any wrong doing, most if not all whom hit a wall in Level 52-54 in DR and were happy to move ahead XP wise to get to the next mission in DR .
I leveled 3 levels with teaming in Japori and I stopped playing at Level 59 , 4 missions before the end of DR . By then many of the bad things DR brought became clear and quite frankly I didn’t feel like playing .
And to those who do feel like playing , I give one advice : if you want a LoR like game experience … , level your toon to level 56-59 BEFORE you touch DR .
Now to my second point, which has to do with perspective and the Really Important things to player quality of life .
Example : around season 8.5 Cryptic removed the rotating Events Calendar that gave us hourly Dil bonuses, hourly XP bonuses and a bunch of other stuff . Unfortunately for the players, they did this when most of the players were busy arguing about last years grind Anniversary , and that grind for the Dyson ship overshadowed far more important issues .
Two months later when the Anniversary was a distant memory ppl were coming to realize that those Dilithium Weekends that Cryptic talked about as a replacement for the Calendar Dil bonus events … well they were not coming very frequently and later on still it was noticed that they come around every 4-8 months .
What’s the lesson from that ? Focus on what will still hurt the player base not just now but 2 months down the road .
See , 2 months down the road those who lost Skill Points due to Cryptic removing them will have earned those back .
BUT …
If players won’t be able to complete STF’s one Advanced or Elite , if the players will continue to feel that the awards that Normal and Advanced give are not worth the effort (240 / 480 Dil) , if players will feel that the Leveling in DR is a chore rather then a pleasure (even on their very first run) — all THESE things will be with us 2 months down the road if things don’t get turned around .
Add to that the monumental cost of upgrading / equipping Alt’s — which many players have in a game that 2 weeks ago was Very Alt friendly … — and you have a ton of issues that the so called exploit just sits on top of .
I won’t accuse you right of the bat of not talking about any of these things –,I’ll wait ’till the next show to see how much of this you’ll cover , but the talk of ppl leaving is not just talk Elijah . Cryptic has finally managed to do so much wrong by so many players that even some of those who were sure that they will only leave when the servers are shut down are questioning this path .
The_Grand_Nagus on 2014-10-31
Ok, so. About the exploit. Yes, many people overreacted to this situation, as many people always do about pretty much every situation. Shame on them. However, it is not fair to only single out the mistakes of players and ignore Cryptic’s mistakes. They did a really bad job of communication on this issue, and they did an even worse job of actually enforcing their “fix”. So bad in fact, that they have now had to reverse the entire thing and restore points to *everyone* who lost them; both guilty and innocent alike, as they did not want to do the leg work to restore them only to the innocent. So both Cryptic and many community members “failed” on this issue. Hopefully both sides can learn and improve in the future. But this is a topic that definitely deserves discussion on the premier STO podcast, because sweeping problems under the rug doesnt lead to improvement in the future.
kreael22 on 2014-10-31
Little disappointed with your perspective on the ‘exploit’. Stating they made you ‘feel like the inadequate or novice player lagging behind you just because I chose not to find the sketchiest way to the end’ makes you sound like a jealous child. Some players do stupid amounts of DPS and enjoy race grinding to the end. Many hit with the rollback did not know the activity was an ‘exploit’ when partaking in it and have since regained their lost points almost as fast as the first time. Some others did truly exploit a different aspect of the system and did deserve a rollback but it doesn’t matter to me if they did or did not get hit with it.
‘They punished me because exploiters couldn’t let me have nice things.’ Incorrect. They have admitted the unwillingness to ensure such a reward, and exp gain in general, is a well designed system. Their are a plethora of ways to keep the reward and make it difficult to impossible to grossly exploit like has been done with the foundry.
Hopefully though they will instead use the opportunity to just increase exp/SP rewards across the board. We can hope!
kreael22 on 2014-10-31
And apparently I just learned they have restored some player’s points whom were not actively ‘exploiting’. I’m happy to not be so close minded as to blindly accept Cryptic’s accusations against people of malicious intent. I’m also happy Cryptic is fixing the error.
Mike on 2014-10-31
The exploit was reported (repeatedly) on Tribble. Cryptic chose to ignore “fixing” it, so why shouldn’t people assume it was working as intended when it went Live?
People like Elijah, seem to think that everyone behaved maliciously, with the sole intent of gaming the system, getting as much rewards in as short of time as possible. There’s also been MULTIPLE reports, of players who weren’t even near the effected systems, who got punished for “exploiting”.
Stephen D’Angelo should’ve kept his mouth shut, because all he succeeded in doing, is adding fuel to the fire. He should be replaced as EP at the earliest possibility. Al Rivera likewise, should be fired for calling the entire player base (via STOked) morons.
Aelfwin on 2019-01-30
OK, I’ve read it all and I’m only half red in the face . 🙂
I have 2 responses , so I’ll start with the less important one :
You have not seen Zone chat in Sector space so active since before the queue system was introduced and we were calling for teams for STF’s in Gamma Orianis . The Japori thing was by large done by many many players , most of whom were and are totally oblivious to any wrong doing, most if not all whom hit a wall in Level 52-54 in DR and were happy to move ahead XP wise to get to the next mission in DR .
I leveled 3 levels with teaming in Japori and I stopped playing at Level 59 , 4 missions before the end of DR . By then many of the bad things DR brought became clear and quite frankly I didn’t feel like playing .
And to those who do feel like playing , I give one advice : if you want a LoR like game experience … , level your toon to level 56-59 BEFORE you touch DR .
Now to my second point, which has to do with perspective and the Really Important things to player quality of life .
Example : around season 8.5 Cryptic removed the rotating Events Calendar that gave us hourly Dil bonuses, hourly XP bonuses and a bunch of other stuff . Unfortunately for the players, they did this when most of the players were busy arguing about last years grind Anniversary , and that grind for the Dyson ship overshadowed far more important issues .
Two months later when the Anniversary was a distant memory ppl were coming to realize that those Dilithium Weekends that Cryptic talked about as a replacement for the Calendar Dil bonus events … well they were not coming very frequently and later on still it was noticed that they come around every 4-8 months .
What’s the lesson from that ? Focus on what will still hurt the player base not just now but 2 months down the road .
See , 2 months down the road those who lost Skill Points due to Cryptic removing them will have earned those back .
BUT …
If players won’t be able to complete STF’s one Advanced or Elite , if the players will continue to feel that the awards that Normal and Advanced give are not worth the effort (240 / 480 Dil) , if players will feel that the Leveling in DR is a chore rather then a pleasure (even on their very first run) — all THESE things will be with us 2 months down the road if things don’t get turned around .
Add to that the monumental cost of upgrading / equipping Alt’s — which many players have in a game that 2 weeks ago was Very Alt friendly … — and you have a ton of issues that the so called exploit just sits on top of .
I won’t accuse you right of the bat of not talking about any of these things –,I’ll wait ’till the next show to see how much of this you’ll cover , but the talk of ppl leaving is not just talk Elijah . Cryptic has finally managed to do so much wrong by so many players that even some of those who were sure that they will only leave when the servers are shut down are questioning this path .
The_Grand_Nagus on 2019-01-30
Ok, so. About the exploit. Yes, many people overreacted to this situation, as many people always do about pretty much every situation. Shame on them. However, it is not fair to only single out the mistakes of players and ignore Cryptic’s mistakes. They did a really bad job of communication on this issue, and they did an even worse job of actually enforcing their “fix”. So bad in fact, that they have now had to reverse the entire thing and restore points to *everyone* who lost them; both guilty and innocent alike, as they did not want to do the leg work to restore them only to the innocent. So both Cryptic and many community members “failed” on this issue. Hopefully both sides can learn and improve in the future. But this is a topic that definitely deserves discussion on the premier STO podcast, because sweeping problems under the rug doesnt lead to improvement in the future.
kreael22 on 2019-01-30
Little disappointed with your perspective on the ‘exploit’. Stating they made you ‘feel like the inadequate or novice player lagging behind you just because I chose not to find the sketchiest way to the end’ makes you sound like a jealous child. Some players do stupid amounts of DPS and enjoy race grinding to the end. Many hit with the rollback did not know the activity was an ‘exploit’ when partaking in it and have since regained their lost points almost as fast as the first time. Some others did truly exploit a different aspect of the system and did deserve a rollback but it doesn’t matter to me if they did or did not get hit with it.
‘They punished me because exploiters couldn’t let me have nice things.’ Incorrect. They have admitted the unwillingness to ensure such a reward, and exp gain in general, is a well designed system. Their are a plethora of ways to keep the reward and make it difficult to impossible to grossly exploit like has been done with the foundry.
Hopefully though they will instead use the opportunity to just increase exp/SP rewards across the board. We can hope!
kreael22 on 2019-01-30
And apparently I just learned they have restored some player’s points whom were not actively ‘exploiting’. I’m happy to not be so close minded as to blindly accept Cryptic’s accusations against people of malicious intent. I’m also happy Cryptic is fixing the error.
Mike on 2019-01-30
The exploit was reported (repeatedly) on Tribble. Cryptic chose to ignore “fixing” it, so why shouldn’t people assume it was working as intended when it went Live?
People like Elijah, seem to think that everyone behaved maliciously, with the sole intent of gaming the system, getting as much rewards in as short of time as possible. There’s also been MULTIPLE reports, of players who weren’t even near the effected systems, who got punished for “exploiting”.
Stephen D’Angelo should’ve kept his mouth shut, because all he succeeded in doing, is adding fuel to the fire. He should be replaced as EP at the earliest possibility. Al Rivera likewise, should be fired for calling the entire player base (via STOked) morons.
Seannewboy on 2014-10-31
I agree completely with you Elijah it was an exploit and they knew it, and they should just accept it.
As for hippiejohn’s comments. Al has made some comments not understanding what he was really implying and has metaphorically shot himself in the foot several times in the past year. Like it or not, he is a de facto member of customer service, and should try harder to choose his phrases more carefully. I still respect him and the work he does and applaud the fact that he still comes out and tries.
DazoUK on 2014-10-31
Well said and I didn’t know about a exploit in the game if I did I would or reported it I love this game and the star trek franchise in a treker and allways will be I spend money on the game I pay monthly for it and I’m happy with the Zen they give me a month and I spend my fair shear on the game they could of made it a pay to play insted kf free to play as a company they need to make money.to pay the wages of the craftsmen behind the game so good for them and if your not willing to pay for stuff that are top end then grind dillithiam and get Zen for it I know some one who did it and got the legacy of romulas pack from it well ranted in my eyes and pone is so good I’m waiting for Monday 🙂
Seannewboy on 2019-01-30
I agree completely with you Elijah it was an exploit and they knew it, and they should just accept it.
As for hippiejohn’s comments. Al has made some comments not understanding what he was really implying and has metaphorically shot himself in the foot several times in the past year. Like it or not, he is a de facto member of customer service, and should try harder to choose his phrases more carefully. I still respect him and the work he does and applaud the fact that he still comes out and tries.
DazoUK on 2019-01-30
Well said and I didn’t know about a exploit in the game if I did I would or reported it I love this game and the star trek franchise in a treker and allways will be I spend money on the game I pay monthly for it and I’m happy with the Zen they give me a month and I spend my fair shear on the game they could of made it a pay to play insted kf free to play as a company they need to make money.to pay the wages of the craftsmen behind the game so good for them and if your not willing to pay for stuff that are top end then grind dillithiam and get Zen for it I know some one who did it and got the legacy of romulas pack from it well ranted in my eyes and pone is so good I’m waiting for Monday 🙂
Vivienne Anthony on 2014-10-31
Thanks your response. I wanted to see the general response to the issues. Although you have great points I do have some disagreements. I guess it’s human nature to disagree.
As a player with the new changes, I would try to get the biggest return of investment concerning time. So, although I did a few runs doing the Japori system. I spent most of my time running the Argala system in the Delta Quadrant plus some missions. Sadly, it took me 40 minutes to do one run and a lot of long nights. It was hugely aggravating but the return of doing the elite mission was high.
If the plan was for me to pay for XP boost with the new system just to get a decent recent. Since I only play in elite mode. It’s not happening although I spent money on the game.
It’s really sad that they expect players to spend 5 times the time to play elite and only get 3 times the return. I find it a insult.
As to the banning, I have been banned from posting new messages on the forums. I think its a definite insult to the playerbase especially specific players for voicing their opinions even if said in a polite way . I don’t know how you would agree with that.
I do not think it’s right, period.
HippieJohn on 2014-10-30
The one thing I don’t see you address in this rant, is what I think has begun to become the main point. That being Cryptic and PWEs absolute failures at communicating with the player base.
An Executive Producer who is all but invisible 99.99999% of the time and when he speaks only manages to make the situations that are going on worse, and a Lead Developer who is on record insulting the player base. The absolute silence from the Community Team.
On other points, hell man, I agree with you, but I really think this communication style or lack therof is the real problem and issue.
Elijah on 2014-10-30
I see what you’re saying. But, honestly, it could’ve been a LOT worse. There is absolutely NO question that Cryptic is one of the most communicative developers in the industry. With that, I’m sure come moments when a PR-Rep is bound to /facepalm/. Honestly, I think they should have just stayed quiet about the whole thing. Quietly rectify the exploit, quietly punish the minute number of players that absolutely abused the system, and moved on.
Don’t forget that STO’s EP is also Cryptic’s CTO — the same man everyone praised when we started getting Quality of Life improvements to STO. I think I saw the dude with an I.V. in his arm just to get nutrients in his system. As for Al’s comments — are you talking about one of his last visits on STOked? Because he’s never come on our show and bashed the community. Or am I missing forum posts and tweets?
Again — not getting paid to defend them. But — I’ve been in the Lion’s Den — I SEEN IT! These people are not out to get us. You know what I saw during my trip to Cryptic? I saw craftsmen working to build a universe for a world to enjoy. That’s not an easy task when bottom-dollar profit is concerned.
Woody_Valley on 2014-10-31
Also you just got to remember that the Devs are human like you and me and humans are bound to make mistakes, that’s how we learn.
Would you treat them any different if they are a family member or a friend or co-worker?
For most of them it’s a job to help pay for a roof over the heads, food on the table and the bills paid.
Vivienne Anthony on 2019-01-30
Thanks your response. I wanted to see the general response to the issues. Although you have great points I do have some disagreements. I guess it’s human nature to disagree.
As a player with the new changes, I would try to get the biggest return of investment concerning time. So, although I did a few runs doing the Japori system. I spent most of my time running the Argala system in the Delta Quadrant plus some missions. Sadly, it took me 40 minutes to do one run and a lot of long nights. It was hugely aggravating but the return of doing the elite mission was high.
If the plan was for me to pay for XP boost with the new system just to get a decent recent. Since I only play in elite mode. It’s not happening although I spent money on the game.
It’s really sad that they expect players to spend 5 times the time to play elite and only get 3 times the return. I find it a insult.
As to the banning, I have been banned from posting new messages on the forums. I think its a definite insult to the playerbase especially specific players for voicing their opinions even if said in a polite way . I don’t know how you would agree with that.
I do not think it’s right, period.
starwolf31415 on 2014-10-30
Thank you, Elijah. Because of some of the same issues you mentioned near the end of the article, and the aggravation they have been causing, I have found myself falling somewhat into the drama in the forums (sigh, and I know better than that too, grr.) Your viewpoints have helped to counter them and ground me into a more realistic perspective. There are those that probably want to hear you share your opinions in order to validate their own negativity, but some of us are eager to hear your opinion for the exact other reason–to help counter a lot of the negativity and drama expressed elsewhere.I love Star Trek and STO, too, and it is this passion that makes me upset and worried for the game. Thank you for your post,again. I know all of you are tired and need a break, especially after your trip to Cryptic, but you taking the time to post this is appreciated. You all rock at Priority One.
HippieJohn on 2019-01-30
The one thing I don’t see you address in this rant, is what I think has begun to become the main point. That being Cryptic and PWEs absolute failures at communicating with the player base.
An Executive Producer who is all but invisible 99.99999% of the time and when he speaks only manages to make the situations that are going on worse, and a Lead Developer who is on record insulting the player base. The absolute silence from the Community Team.
On other points, hell man, I agree with you, but I really think this communication style or lack therof is the real problem and issue.
Elijah on 2019-01-30
I see what you’re saying. But, honestly, it could’ve been a LOT worse. There is absolutely NO question that Cryptic is one of the most communicative developers in the industry. With that, I’m sure come moments when a PR-Rep is bound to /facepalm/. Honestly, I think they should have just stayed quiet about the whole thing. Quietly rectify the exploit, quietly punish the minute number of players that absolutely abused the system, and moved on.
Don’t forget that STO’s EP is also Cryptic’s CTO — the same man everyone praised when we started getting Quality of Life improvements to STO. I think I saw the dude with an I.V. in his arm just to get nutrients in his system. As for Al’s comments — are you talking about one of his last visits on STOked? Because he’s never come on our show and bashed the community. Or am I missing forum posts and tweets?
Again — not getting paid to defend them. But — I’ve been in the Lion’s Den — I SEEN IT! These people are not out to get us. You know what I saw during my trip to Cryptic? I saw craftsmen working to build a universe for a world to enjoy. That’s not an easy task when bottom-dollar profit is concerned.
Woody_Valley on 2019-01-30
Also you just got to remember that the Devs are human like you and me and humans are bound to make mistakes, that’s how we learn.
Would you treat them any different if they are a family member or a friend or co-worker?
For most of them it’s a job to help pay for a roof over the heads, food on the table and the bills paid.
starwolf31415 on 2019-01-30
Thank you, Elijah. Because of some of the same issues you mentioned near the end of the article, and the aggravation they have been causing, I have found myself falling somewhat into the drama in the forums (sigh, and I know better than that too, grr.) Your viewpoints have helped to counter them and ground me into a more realistic perspective. There are those that probably want to hear you share your opinions in order to validate their own negativity, but some of us are eager to hear your opinion for the exact other reason–to help counter a lot of the negativity and drama expressed elsewhere.I love Star Trek and STO, too, and it is this passion that makes me upset and worried for the game. Thank you for your post,again. I know all of you are tired and need a break, especially after your trip to Cryptic, but you taking the time to post this is appreciated. You all rock at Priority One.
Comments are closed.