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Big thanks to 112310 for putting this up on the STO forum! Red are the questions, brown the answers.
Bizarro_Rekhan> Hello, everyone, and welcome to today's dev
chat. Craig Zinkievich is here to talk about Bridge Crews. We'll be
drawing questions from the forums to answer, as well as taking live
questions from the folks here. Please PM questions to either
Bizarro_Rekhan or Bizarro_Daeke in order for them to be answered.
14:33 CrypticZinc> Ok - let's go!
14:33 Bizarro_Rekhan> Loyaltrekie> What
are the different ways that we will gain access to new crew members?
Through missions, "loot", etc? Along that same vein of questioning, are
there any "rare" crew members? How will we obtain them?
14:35 CrypticZinc> You'll get Bridge
Officers all sorts of different ways. Starfleet\KDF will grant them to
you, you'll have the ability to recruit them from planets you've done
missions for. Bridge Officers end up being the "phat lewt" of STO.
14:35 CrypticZinc> There are rare Bridge Officers as well. Some
that you'll only get access to when you do high-end content, some
you'll get through luck and exploration.
14:37 CrypticZinc> They give your character some of the cooler
powers in space – and since you level them up, and equip them – they’re
a little more complex than armor. : )
14:38 Bizarro_Daeke> Valeroth: If Bridge Officers are the "phat
lewt" do I have to ditch everyone that has followed me through my
command.
14:39 CrypticZinc> No - not at all.,
14:39 CrypticZinc> If my second in command has been with Ensign
Valeroth the whole time - no way I want to ditch them and start fresh.
14:40 CrypticZinc> If you get a wicked cool new Tactical
BOfficer who's got a power or skill you want, you can choose to either
recruit them to your crew, or train up one of your existing crew with
the new skill.
Bizarro_Rekhan> Red_Shirt_> will the
bridge of a given ship have a set number of "slots" (stations), say a
defiant will have a max of 5 seats and a sov can accommodate 10 people
on the bridge. And will the seats can only welcome a max number of crew
mates per specialization. Like crewing the 10 seats on a sov bridge
with 10 science officers (even if it's not the smartest strategy).
CrypticZinc> Yes. The different ship
configurations have different number of stations on the bridge. Each
station (slot for your BOfficers) has a type – either Tactical, Science
or Engineering. Given the configuration of ship – you’ll be able to
activate different permutations of Bridge Officers.
CrypticZinc> For example - the Defiant will have more Tactical stations than an Olympic configuration.
Bizarro_Rekhan> Admiral_Trane> Will be able to trade crewmen with different players?
14:44 CrypticZinc> Most Bridge Officers
will be tradable. Some will probably be bound to you - but you can
transfer crew to other captains.
CrypticZinc> One semantic thing – when we talk about your NPC
pets that you level up, we call them _Bridge Officers_. “Crew” is
another concept. Your crew is the nameless hundreds who help run and
repair your ship. Different gameplay mechanic.
CrypticZinc> ravenkin> Are there going to be level requirements to be able to use BO's then?
14:47 CrypticZinc> Not level requirements - but rank requirements.
CrypticZinc> Each BOfficer has a number of skills that open up as they rank up.
CrypticZinc> A Captain can only command a BOfficer who's rank is one step below that of the captain.
Bizarro_Rekhan> BreachAndClear> Will a
player be able to have more crewmen then there are positions? For
instance, if my ship can accommodate a bridge crew size of 5, will I
only have 5 crewmen or can I have a larger pool, with only 5 of them
being in play at a time?
14:48 CrypticZinc> YES!
CrypticZinc> There's a maximum number
(we're thinking around 12 right now) of Bridge Officers you'll be able
to have on your ship - but it's more than you can seat on your ship at
any one time.
CrypticZinc> Initially, your Bridge Officers will be used on the
Ground AND Space - but over time, you may find that you customize some
BOfficers to stay on your ship, and some that aren't seated on the
bridge, but always go on your away missions.
CrypticZinc> Also - we really want to give you guys the freedom
to build up a staff of officers that allow you to customize your
gameplay.
CrypticZinc> Maybe today you're
outfitting your Sovereign class ship with a lot of Tactical guys - but
tomorrow, you'll play more of a support role. Depending on what
BOfficers are on the bridge - your role and gameplay experience will
change.
Bizarro_Rekhan> oleum> Will you be able to lose bridge crew by having them killed in battle?
14:52 CrypticZinc> No.
CrypticZinc> It is a game - your Bridge
Officers will always get "saved" right at the last minute. (Beamed to
sick bay, etc...)
14:53 CrypticZinc> Just like in the shows. : )
CrypticZinc> If your BOfficers are a
very important part of your "character" - you'll invest a huge amount
of time developing these guys - we don't want to be killing them on
you. : )
CrypticZinc> 3 months or work gone in a minute - yeah, not fun for most
Bizarro_Rekhan> Alien_de_jour> How many bridge crew will we start the game with? Do we start off alone?
CrypticZinc> You start off by yourself - but you'll get your first Bridge Officer very early on.
CrypticZinc> Within the first hour or two.
Bizarro_Rekhan> Kinneas> how is any battle to be decided if nobody can die on either side?
CrypticZinc> Oh - don't get me wrong - people get removed from battle. There's just no Bridge Officer permadeath.
Bizarro_Rekhan> G. Cockburn> Does
customisation for our bridge crew extend beyond facial features and
species, for example, can we alter their uniforms? Can we decide what
rank they hold? Can we dictate what position within the crew they hold?
For example, could I create; Commander "X", First Officer and Chief
Tactical Officer, a hologram with the appearance of the EMH MK1, and
have him in a standard Command Red uniform? Could I also create; Master
Chief Petty
14:58 Bizarro_Rekhan> Officer "Y", Security Chief, human female,
wearing an all-black version of the standard uniform with militaristic
embellishments?
CrypticZinc> Yes. You'll have control over the appearance, species and uniform for each officer.
CrypticZinc> 224 people here for the chat - does this time work better than the last one for people?
Bizarro_Daeke> We've got about 15 minutes left for this dev
chat. If you still have questions, PM them to either Bizarro_Rekhan or
Bizarro_Daeke only.
Bizarro_Daeke> JoJimGregory: What sort of
actions can we have Bridge Officers take on away missions, and can they
be commanded individually, or only as a group?
CrypticZinc> Both. You'll be able to give them individual commands as well as the same commands to the group.
Bizarro_Rekhan> Kade> Are you saying
that, through cross training BO skills, it is possible to maintain, as
an example, a full Klingon race only crew yet still have access to
unique skills found in other races?
CrypticZinc> Yes.
CrypticZinc> oleum> Will your bridge
crew be able to level up independently of you as the captain, and will
you have the ability as captain to award promotions at some point to
control this advancement?
CrypticZinc> Yes - your crew will level
up with different skill points than your captain. You can promote them,
but only to levels one below your current rank.
Bizarro_Rekhan> Thunder Child> Klingon
officers tend to get their promotions via killing their direct
superior, surely my Klingon captain won’t be replacing officers every
week because they keep picking fights with each other. Though with the
Klingon faction being said to provide a different play experience, are
there any differences in how Klingon faction officers work versus their
Federation counterparts?
CrypticZinc> The "different play experience" is that you get killed every week by your BOfficers. : )
CrypticZinc> Klingon Officers work in pretty much the same way the Federation ones do.
Bizarro_Daeke> Valeroth: What's to stop you from promoting all your bridge crew to just one rank below yours?
CrypticZinc> There's a cost in
Starfleet Reputation to recommend someone for promotion. You'd be a
pretty poor manager if you handed out promotions left and right.
CrypticZinc> Alien_de_jour> Will the
crew be directly involved in mission plots? Will we ever be saving our
science officer from an alien parasite?
CrypticZinc> Your crew will be involved
in mission plots - but we're still playing around with how much they
can be incapacitated.
CrypticZinc> One of the main ways that information gets to you
as captain will be through your Bridge Officers. The majority of
episode text is "spoken" to you by your crew, they always scanning,
contacting other ships or otherwise helping to move the story along.
Bizarro_Rekhan> tenorman2222> will you be able to "respec" your BO
CrypticZinc> Current "respec" for BOfficers is having another potential Bridge Officer "train them up" with a new skill.
CrypticZinc> Tamgros> Bridge Officers
are the ones who perform the ship's special abilities, do they have
special abilities on the ground, or they just act like drone pets with
buffs/debuffs? It sounds like the captain has abilities on the ground
and general buffs for ships, so this question is basically is it
flipped for bridge crew?
CrypticZinc> The BOfficers have special
skills on the ground - but that's a nice observation. In space - your
Captain provides most of the buffs, and your BOfficers provide most of
the "powers". On the ground - that's reversed.
CrypticZinc> Still - on the ground, your BOfficers need to be
outfitted with weapons and other equipment, so they're not inactive in
any sense. But the majority of your "role" as a player comes form your
Captain on the ground.
Bizarro_Rekhan> Zepath> Do we name our BOfficers, or is that assigned by the game?
CrypticZinc> They're all named Craig Zinkievich by default.
CrypticZinc> No - they'll come with pregenerated names - but you'll get the opportunity to rename them.
Bizarro_Daeke> BreachAndClear: Will there be
any general hubs at which new bridge crew members can be recruited? For
instance, will there be a pool of available recruits available for
commission at starbases?
CrypticZinc> Yes - you'll be able to
visit the StarFleet (or KDF) recruitment office at the hubs in order to
recruit new bridge officers
Bizarro_Rekhan> And with that last question, our time is up.
Thanks a bunch for attending the chat, everyone! We'll see you all
again very soon. Be sure to check out StarTrekOnline.com for updates
about the game and notices on when our next dev chat will be.
SECRET QUESTION NEVER ASKED IN THE DEV CHAT
[OF]Neowolf06 Can we customise our Bridge Crew like we do our own Character?
19:42 Bizarro_Daeke I'm not sure if Zinc's going to be able to answer it in chat, but I can answer it for you: Yes.
Bizarro_Rekhan> Hello, everyone, and welcome to today's dev
chat. Craig Zinkievich is here to talk about Bridge Crews. We'll be
drawing questions from the forums to answer, as well as taking live
questions from the folks here. Please PM questions to either
Bizarro_Rekhan or Bizarro_Daeke in order for them to be answered.
14:33 CrypticZinc> Ok - let's go!
14:33 Bizarro_Rekhan> Loyaltrekie> What
are the different ways that we will gain access to new crew members?
Through missions, "loot", etc? Along that same vein of questioning, are
there any "rare" crew members? How will we obtain them?
14:35 CrypticZinc> You'll get Bridge
Officers all sorts of different ways. Starfleet\KDF will grant them to
you, you'll have the ability to recruit them from planets you've done
missions for. Bridge Officers end up being the "phat lewt" of STO.
14:35 CrypticZinc> There are rare Bridge Officers as well. Some
that you'll only get access to when you do high-end content, some
you'll get through luck and exploration.
14:37 CrypticZinc> They give your character some of the cooler
powers in space – and since you level them up, and equip them – they’re
a little more complex than armor. : )
14:38 Bizarro_Daeke> Valeroth: If Bridge Officers are the "phat
lewt" do I have to ditch everyone that has followed me through my
command.
14:39 CrypticZinc> No - not at all.,
14:39 CrypticZinc> If my second in command has been with Ensign
Valeroth the whole time - no way I want to ditch them and start fresh.
14:40 CrypticZinc> If you get a wicked cool new Tactical
BOfficer who's got a power or skill you want, you can choose to either
recruit them to your crew, or train up one of your existing crew with
the new skill.
Bizarro_Rekhan> Red_Shirt_> will the
bridge of a given ship have a set number of "slots" (stations), say a
defiant will have a max of 5 seats and a sov can accommodate 10 people
on the bridge. And will the seats can only welcome a max number of crew
mates per specialization. Like crewing the 10 seats on a sov bridge
with 10 science officers (even if it's not the smartest strategy).
CrypticZinc> Yes. The different ship
configurations have different number of stations on the bridge. Each
station (slot for your BOfficers) has a type – either Tactical, Science
or Engineering. Given the configuration of ship – you’ll be able to
activate different permutations of Bridge Officers.
CrypticZinc> For example - the Defiant will have more Tactical stations than an Olympic configuration.
Bizarro_Rekhan> Admiral_Trane> Will be able to trade crewmen with different players?
14:44 CrypticZinc> Most Bridge Officers
will be tradable. Some will probably be bound to you - but you can
transfer crew to other captains.
CrypticZinc> One semantic thing – when we talk about your NPC
pets that you level up, we call them _Bridge Officers_. “Crew” is
another concept. Your crew is the nameless hundreds who help run and
repair your ship. Different gameplay mechanic.
CrypticZinc> ravenkin> Are there going to be level requirements to be able to use BO's then?
14:47 CrypticZinc> Not level requirements - but rank requirements.
CrypticZinc> Each BOfficer has a number of skills that open up as they rank up.
CrypticZinc> A Captain can only command a BOfficer who's rank is one step below that of the captain.
Bizarro_Rekhan> BreachAndClear> Will a
player be able to have more crewmen then there are positions? For
instance, if my ship can accommodate a bridge crew size of 5, will I
only have 5 crewmen or can I have a larger pool, with only 5 of them
being in play at a time?
14:48 CrypticZinc> YES!
CrypticZinc> There's a maximum number
(we're thinking around 12 right now) of Bridge Officers you'll be able
to have on your ship - but it's more than you can seat on your ship at
any one time.
CrypticZinc> Initially, your Bridge Officers will be used on the
Ground AND Space - but over time, you may find that you customize some
BOfficers to stay on your ship, and some that aren't seated on the
bridge, but always go on your away missions.
CrypticZinc> Also - we really want to give you guys the freedom
to build up a staff of officers that allow you to customize your
gameplay.
CrypticZinc> Maybe today you're
outfitting your Sovereign class ship with a lot of Tactical guys - but
tomorrow, you'll play more of a support role. Depending on what
BOfficers are on the bridge - your role and gameplay experience will
change.
Bizarro_Rekhan> oleum> Will you be able to lose bridge crew by having them killed in battle?
14:52 CrypticZinc> No.
CrypticZinc> It is a game - your Bridge
Officers will always get "saved" right at the last minute. (Beamed to
sick bay, etc...)
14:53 CrypticZinc> Just like in the shows. : )
CrypticZinc> If your BOfficers are a
very important part of your "character" - you'll invest a huge amount
of time developing these guys - we don't want to be killing them on
you. : )
CrypticZinc> 3 months or work gone in a minute - yeah, not fun for most
Bizarro_Rekhan> Alien_de_jour> How many bridge crew will we start the game with? Do we start off alone?
CrypticZinc> You start off by yourself - but you'll get your first Bridge Officer very early on.
CrypticZinc> Within the first hour or two.
Bizarro_Rekhan> Kinneas> how is any battle to be decided if nobody can die on either side?
CrypticZinc> Oh - don't get me wrong - people get removed from battle. There's just no Bridge Officer permadeath.
Bizarro_Rekhan> G. Cockburn> Does
customisation for our bridge crew extend beyond facial features and
species, for example, can we alter their uniforms? Can we decide what
rank they hold? Can we dictate what position within the crew they hold?
For example, could I create; Commander "X", First Officer and Chief
Tactical Officer, a hologram with the appearance of the EMH MK1, and
have him in a standard Command Red uniform? Could I also create; Master
Chief Petty
14:58 Bizarro_Rekhan> Officer "Y", Security Chief, human female,
wearing an all-black version of the standard uniform with militaristic
embellishments?
CrypticZinc> Yes. You'll have control over the appearance, species and uniform for each officer.
CrypticZinc> 224 people here for the chat - does this time work better than the last one for people?
Bizarro_Daeke> We've got about 15 minutes left for this dev
chat. If you still have questions, PM them to either Bizarro_Rekhan or
Bizarro_Daeke only.
Bizarro_Daeke> JoJimGregory: What sort of
actions can we have Bridge Officers take on away missions, and can they
be commanded individually, or only as a group?
CrypticZinc> Both. You'll be able to give them individual commands as well as the same commands to the group.
Bizarro_Rekhan> Kade> Are you saying
that, through cross training BO skills, it is possible to maintain, as
an example, a full Klingon race only crew yet still have access to
unique skills found in other races?
CrypticZinc> Yes.
CrypticZinc> oleum> Will your bridge
crew be able to level up independently of you as the captain, and will
you have the ability as captain to award promotions at some point to
control this advancement?
CrypticZinc> Yes - your crew will level
up with different skill points than your captain. You can promote them,
but only to levels one below your current rank.
Bizarro_Rekhan> Thunder Child> Klingon
officers tend to get their promotions via killing their direct
superior, surely my Klingon captain won’t be replacing officers every
week because they keep picking fights with each other. Though with the
Klingon faction being said to provide a different play experience, are
there any differences in how Klingon faction officers work versus their
Federation counterparts?
CrypticZinc> The "different play experience" is that you get killed every week by your BOfficers. : )
CrypticZinc> Klingon Officers work in pretty much the same way the Federation ones do.
Bizarro_Daeke> Valeroth: What's to stop you from promoting all your bridge crew to just one rank below yours?
CrypticZinc> There's a cost in
Starfleet Reputation to recommend someone for promotion. You'd be a
pretty poor manager if you handed out promotions left and right.
CrypticZinc> Alien_de_jour> Will the
crew be directly involved in mission plots? Will we ever be saving our
science officer from an alien parasite?
CrypticZinc> Your crew will be involved
in mission plots - but we're still playing around with how much they
can be incapacitated.
CrypticZinc> One of the main ways that information gets to you
as captain will be through your Bridge Officers. The majority of
episode text is "spoken" to you by your crew, they always scanning,
contacting other ships or otherwise helping to move the story along.
Bizarro_Rekhan> tenorman2222> will you be able to "respec" your BO
CrypticZinc> Current "respec" for BOfficers is having another potential Bridge Officer "train them up" with a new skill.
CrypticZinc> Tamgros> Bridge Officers
are the ones who perform the ship's special abilities, do they have
special abilities on the ground, or they just act like drone pets with
buffs/debuffs? It sounds like the captain has abilities on the ground
and general buffs for ships, so this question is basically is it
flipped for bridge crew?
CrypticZinc> The BOfficers have special
skills on the ground - but that's a nice observation. In space - your
Captain provides most of the buffs, and your BOfficers provide most of
the "powers". On the ground - that's reversed.
CrypticZinc> Still - on the ground, your BOfficers need to be
outfitted with weapons and other equipment, so they're not inactive in
any sense. But the majority of your "role" as a player comes form your
Captain on the ground.
Bizarro_Rekhan> Zepath> Do we name our BOfficers, or is that assigned by the game?
CrypticZinc> They're all named Craig Zinkievich by default.
CrypticZinc> No - they'll come with pregenerated names - but you'll get the opportunity to rename them.
Bizarro_Daeke> BreachAndClear: Will there be
any general hubs at which new bridge crew members can be recruited? For
instance, will there be a pool of available recruits available for
commission at starbases?
CrypticZinc> Yes - you'll be able to
visit the StarFleet (or KDF) recruitment office at the hubs in order to
recruit new bridge officers
Bizarro_Rekhan> And with that last question, our time is up.
Thanks a bunch for attending the chat, everyone! We'll see you all
again very soon. Be sure to check out StarTrekOnline.com for updates
about the game and notices on when our next dev chat will be.
SECRET QUESTION NEVER ASKED IN THE DEV CHAT
[OF]Neowolf06 Can we customise our Bridge Crew like we do our own Character?
19:42 Bizarro_Daeke I'm not sure if Zinc's going to be able to answer it in chat, but I can answer it for you: Yes.
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