Blow it out your airlock!

Having worked my way up to Commander, and nearly captain (sounds like a child who is 5 “AND A HALF” doesn’t it?) I finally made use of all the Star Trek Online (STO) crafting materials that I have been saving…

And it was not long thereafter that I shot them all out the airlock.

Now rather than simply writing an article denigrating crafting in what is one of my favorite games, I will offer a few observations and a solution or two.  But first let’s start with our earlier article which really did denigrate Player versus Player (pvp) in Star Trek Online.

This last weekend I decided to indulge in a bit more abuse…I mean pvp.  As the Feds were lined up, waiting for all five players to log in to the arena, one player said, “I can’t wait to leave the pvp in this tier behind me.”  Now I could have pointed out that simply attaining the rank of captain doesn’t mean the pvp would be any better.  The simplest solution to the unbalanced pvp would be a pvp only buff for the Federation side only.  The main problem being that any time the Federation players engage in pvp they are easy targets for the Klingon players, and the largest culprits, despite what the “my e-peen is bigger than yours” crowd wants desperately to believe, are weak shields compared to Klingon DPS.  The buff would simply be a buff that could be given by a science ship to increase the shield strength (pvp only) that would be active only while in the arena.  This buff would be similar to the flasks (a type of potion for you non-wow players) in World of Warcraft that persist through death of the character.  This would also have the effect of making the player who chooses to fly a Science ship more valuable instead of eliciting the response “O.K. who brought a science ship to a cruiser fight?” So far the experienced of the staff is limited to the first three tiers and the virtual thumb on the scale is still firmly placed on the Klingon side. I heard rumors in the wind (read forums) that the pendulum swings back toward the Feds briefly in Tier 4 and that “corrects” itself in Tier 5.  This being the case (if it is) the buff would only work for the ships that are used in Tiers 1 through 3 – However, the answer still seems to be in balancing the shields and the ability to penetrate them to make the fight not only fair, but last a bit longer.

To craft, or not to craft, that is the question…

There are many players, myself included, who enjoy crafting in games.  Many players, including some of our regular guests on the No Prisoners, No Mercy show, who will quit a game if it doesn’t have good pvp.   It is important to note, at this point, that “good” crafting doesn’t necessarily mean “complicated” crafting.  The crafting system in Vanguard, for me at least, was complex and so much of a pain in the posterior that I couldn’t sit down for a month after I finally quit playing (which was about the same time that Brad McQuaid did a number on the Sigil employees.).

Crafting in STO is just about lifted directly from Champions Online.  Briefly it works like that: Go out and scan for anomalies as you travel through space.   You will then obtain an inventory full of icons that represent data, artifacts and whatnot.  This isn’t where the system fails.

Where the Star Trek Online system fails, and that is not to say it doesn’t function – it does, it’s simply worthless, is the next step.  All the crafting system amounts to is taking an item you already have in hand (say a medium hypo spray) and turn it, along with your collected data, in to a vendor and receive back an item of the next higher grade.  In other words, all you are really doing is going through a length process to obtain items that are easily obtain through other means – such as on the “auction house” or as pvp rewards.

Imitation is not always bad.

Despite the usual hue and cry of “It’s a wow clone” (and in the case of many writers it seems to be the case of they simply can’t think of anything better to write) this is one time where imitation is not only the sincerest form of flattery but a darn good idea.

If Cryptic is going to “take a note” from crafting in another game, it shouldn’t be from their own game – Champions Online.  If you are going to borrow, borrow from someone who has been doing crafting and industry correctly for a LONG time…

Eve Online

When it comes to crafting the folks at CCP do it right. Quite simply there is little that can equal their crafting system.  To begin with, crafting shouldn’t not be something added in as if to say “Oh yes, and maybe we should have crafting” (sort of the way Turbine initially did pvp in Lord of the Rings Online). Crafting should be desirable. There are many people, myself included, who would make it a major occupation.  Viewing crafting this way is beneficial for the developers and the publishers because, while there are many people who will quit a game with bad crafting, there are also many players who will stay in a game just because  it has good crafting, even when other parts of the game irritate the crap out of them (like Eve Online).

More depth

Crafting needs to have depth. It can’t simply be a matter of turn something in to a vendor for a better goody. The crafter should be able to go out and get the raw materials and create something of value in the game. Too often this turns out to be potions/hypo sprays and the like that are simply a few scraps thrown at the table of crafters.   There is an opportunity here that Cryptic can seize.  If they are going to introduce new ships into Star Trek Online there two ways it can, and should, be done.  First, make those ships craftable, and ONLY craftable. They should not be for sale anywhere in the game other than on the auction house created by crafters. Those ships, and their components, should be the top of the line, the best of the best. It should be what players want and long for.  This is also the point at which those ships, incredibly difficult to make in the first place, could be sale for a MODEST sum in the cash shop.  Not for a small fortune as Gpotato is doing, as they busily price themselves out of the market.

And that’s the way it is, on February 22, 2010

The No Prisoners, No Mercy Team

SIDE NOTE:

As a side note, here is one of the many, many spam messages our filter catches:

Hey great blog, I discovered your website when doing some study on some methods to develop my site. I was just wondering which spam software program you employ for comments because I get lots on my blogs.

The answer, of course, is the same spam filter that caught this automatic spam message.  Then there is the recent spam from a website that promised eternal youth in pill form that offered the following:

Thanks for sharing! it is good to encourage people to comment, not just reading. The only reason I writing blog rather than diary is because of the feedback.

At lest its better than the standard “Great blog, I have been looking for a site like this, I couldn’t agree more”…