Topic: Post your Questions about STO and we will answer! (Read 1258 times)

Zach · « **on:** 26 December 2009 07:25 PM »

Now that Hailing Frequency's NDA has been waived, the staff members (Me, Kinneas, Nova) are allowed to talk about the closed beta, post previews, screenshots, videos........basically anything.

Its a really cool amount of freedom we have been given and we have already posted 3 videos on YouTube that are compilations of hundreds of screenshots we have taken.

We are working on some videos and previews, but while we are doing that - if any of you have questions about the game, post them here and we will do our best to answer!

DISCLAIMER: ANSWERS ARE NOT OFFICIAL. WE ARE ONLY HUMAN, WE COULD BE WRONG ON SOME POINTS. ANSWERS ARE BASED ON OUR EXPERIENCES IN CLOSED BETA TESTING.

Waku · « **Reply #1 on:** 26 December 2009 07:30 PM »

Can you talk about the RISK in PvP, as of now I don't see any nor any reason to PvP with an exception of some loot you can win. Also do you feel the game is epic and large. I ask because many people hear the word instance and think of the game as confined.

Last question is how large can fleet battles be?

Thanks!

GigiKent · « **Reply #2 on:** 26 December 2009 07:32 PM »

I have a question about Ship Tiers.

We know that there are 5 tiers at the moment, each tier consisting of 3 Classes of ships, for each ship type.

For example, the Admiral rank allows access to 3 Battle Cruisers (Sovereign, Noble and Majestic). Is there an actual difference in weapon mount, Boffs or console slots between those 3 classes or is the difference just esthetic?

RoterPanda · « **Reply #3 on:** 27 December 2009 12:13 PM »

I got a question to the ship classes:

First, will science ships be able to solo missions? Will they be able to solo them in an adequate timeframe? (not taking double the time an escort would take) Or are they just important fleet-members?

How does the party-system work out? Is it easy, even with a low (beta-)population, to find groups easy? Do the fights scale properly when grouped?

Is respeccing your skills easy or in at all? For example you tried out a new skill, figured it doesn't suite you, can you get rid of it, maybe even with a points refund? Are skillpoints limited at all or could you, as a maxed out admiral, still collect new points? Is there a limited number of skilltrees you can spec into or do certain skills cancel others out?

Thank you!

klogd · « **Reply #4 on:** 27 December 2009 12:54 PM »

Ouh, I have lots of questions :)

1) Is there a skill "tree" that allows you to specialize in different areas of ground combat (like, choose to focus on long range, suppressive fire, close combat, etc..)?

2) Will there be projective weapons as well as energy based?

3) Will there be explosives (grenades, mines, etc..)?

4) When you enter a new zone, will you have to choose from a list of servers like in CO?

5) Is it possible to have a Fleet tax? so that the fleet gets like 10% of the money the members get from loot and such?

6) What is the coolest thing about STO that has not been covered/mentioned by cryptic in public so far? ;)

Zach · « **Reply #5 on:** 27 December 2009 02:11 PM »

Is there a skill "tree" that allows you to specialize in different areas of ground combat (like, choose to focus on long range, suppressive fire, close combat, etc..)?

Interesting question. There are skills that allow you to specialize in ground combat areas, tactical, science, medical - and the kits that you get for each of these areas create further specialties. My Tactical Character has Photon Grenades MkII for his ground kit, there is also a Suppressing Fire kit. My Engineering Character can build and deploy phaser turrets via his kit...

Will there be projective weapons as well as energy based?

Yes - I don't have a complete list. The TR-116 from DSN is available as a pre-order bonus, there are others.

Will there be explosives (grenades, mines, etc..)?

I have Photon Grenades MKII on the ground, and there are defietly mines in space, though I do not know if there are mines for ground combat, I would assume so....

When you enter a new zone, will you have to choose from a list of servers like in CO?

You can set it to automatically choose for you, or you can manually select from the list. If you are in a team, you will automatically be placed in the same server/instance as your team mates.

Is it possible to have a Fleet tax? so that the fleet gets like 10% of the money the members get from loot and such?

I do not know. There is a Fleet Bank, though I am not sure if you can set taxes etc.

What is the coolest thing about STO that has not been covered/mentioned by cryptic in public so far?

Cryptic have been pretty upfront with us to date. I don't know what there is that I could say, that hasn't already been mentioned. I love the Starship Customization, and combat is beautiful. I think there are alot of "little details" that haven't been mentioned by Cryptic, that really make the game something special.

Will science ships be able to solo missions? Will they be able to solo them in an adequate timeframe? (not taking double the time an escort would take) Or are they just important fleet-members?

I haven't flown any missions in a science ship, however, the way that most missions work, basically scales the "level" of the enemy to match you own level. A science ship may not have as many offensive weapons as an Escort, but I think the other factors that make up that ship would allow you to complete the mission in a decent amount of time. Cryptic have recently been fiddling with the "average mission length" to make it as balanced and reasonable as possible at launch.

How does the party-system work out? Is it easy, even with a low (beta-)population, to find groups easy? Do the fights scale properly when grouped?

Its very easy to fine groups, there is actually a button for it on the user interface. Even in beta, teams work very well. If you are about to enter a mission and there are people already doing that same mission, you will often be asked if you want to automatically create a team with them, though you can still select to do it solo

Is respeccing your skills easy or in at all? For example you tried out a new skill, figured it doesn't suite you, can you get rid of it, maybe even with a points refund? Are skillpoints limited at all or could you, as a maxed out admiral, still collect new points? Is there a limited number of skilltrees you can spec into or do certain skills cancel others out?

As of right now, I havent seen an option in STO for "resetting" or "reversing" your skills like you can do in Champions Online. Also, there isn't a skill house that allows you to "try" skills beforehand. The skill system in STO is really very different than Champions. Its hard to explain, but I think a skill house where you could try skills before hand, would not work very well.

You can always gain new skillpoints, at any rank. If you run out of missions to do, there is still PvP to gain skillpoints.

Ender2183 · « **Reply #6 on:** 27 December 2009 07:25 PM »

Well this is like a late Christmas present.
1. Any idea if Science ships will be able to hold their own against other types(cruiser/escort).
2. If I want to play mainly solo will flying science be viable? Is it best to choose a carear path that matches your ships eg. Tactical officer flying escort, enginear flying cruisers? Could a tactical officer fly a science ship and do well in battle?
3. How important are fleet actions or are they mainly just for end game?

j911g · « **Reply #7 on:** 27 December 2009 08:35 PM »

Quote from: Zach on 27 December 2009 02:11 PM

Its very easy to fine groups, there is actually a button for it on the user interface. Even in beta, teams work very well. If you are about to enter a mission and there are people already doing that same mission, you will often be asked if you want to automatically create a team with them, though you can still select to do it solo

Quick question about this, and btw I appreciate you taking the time to answer these question. But I was wondering if it were possible to do most of the missions solo, and if you chose to do it solo are you the only ship in the instance? Or do you have to navigate around other teams and players doing the mission?

SuperTux · « **Reply #8 on:** 28 December 2009 01:34 AM »

Question: Can you "boldly go where no-one has gone before"? Can you simply fly off into space to explore new territory and strange new worlds? Even without Orders to do so?

Thank you :)

starbaseprime · « **Reply #9 on:** 28 December 2009 01:37 AM »

Thanks so much for taking the time to answer these! Really appreciated!

Does playing in the KDF "feel" like playing a Klingon? That is, how immersive is it in the Klingon culture? Could you substitute any race on the bridge (even a starfleet officer) and not notice the difference? Or, is there that certain feeling that makes you know you have to fight with honor, that you are a Klingon?

If it is immersive specifically towards Klingons, will the other races feel cheated (e.g., Orions and Gorn)? Or have they steeped the KDF in Klingon lore, but pulled off a balance such that most of the races will feel comfortable?

I know this is a very tough/subjective question. But just looking for your thoughts as someone who's been there.

Post Merge: 28 December 2009 02:20 AM

One of the things we've heard is that there are no restrictions on the Klingon bridge stations. So, theoretically we could load up 5 tactical officers.

But, does that make sense? My thinking is that the weapons are on a cooldown cycle, so one tactical officer is all it makes sense to have (assuming they're trained with the appropriate skills). Am I missing something?

Post Merge: 28 December 2009 02:23 AM

Are Tricorders functional devices you take with you on away missions? Or, are they purely cosmetic? If functional, what's the difference between the science, medical, and engineering versions?

Post Merge: 28 December 2009 03:35 PM

Is there a PvP flagging mechanism, or is strictly by queue?

Post Merge: 28 December 2009 03:42 PM

What are the two Great Klingon houses that are in the game? Also, is it true that you have no say over which house you get aligned to when entering PvP?

[If one of them is the House of Duras and I get assigned to it I'll probably just self destruct.

]
[edit: Never mind on this one, it's been confirmed that the House of Duras is one of the two main houses and that which faction you fight for is just a function of the queue (bad show)

]

Author Topic: Post your Questions about STO and we will answer! (Read 1258 times)

Zach

Post your Questions about STO and we will answer!

Waku

Re: Post your Questions about STO and we will answer!

GigiKent

Re: Post your Questions about STO and we will answer!

RoterPanda

Re: Post your Questions about STO and we will answer!

klogd

Re: Post your Questions about STO and we will answer!

Zach

Re: Post your Questions about STO and we will answer!

Ender2183

Re: Post your Questions about STO and we will answer!

j911g

Re: Post your Questions about STO and we will answer!

SuperTux

Re: Post your Questions about STO and we will answer!

starbaseprime

Re: Post your Questions about STO and we will answer!