Path to F2P Blog #26

[Archived Post]

In the latest entry on The Path to F2P (http://startrekonline.com/f2p_blog), Stephen announces Early Access for F2P.


Link to the Article. (http://www.startrekonline.com/node/2756)

[Archived Post]

When you say no loss, do you mean no loss in Boff Slots, Character Slots, Costume Slots, Inventory Slots, etc... What I am asking is that if you were a gold before this F2P launch, as a silver do you still retain those things?

[Archived Post]

A cleaver and acceptable way to test the silver conversion and mechanics.

Welcome back old friends.

[Archived Post]

I wish Cryptic the best of luck and I'm honestly looking forward to the future of STO.
Good luck, guys.

[Archived Post]

When you say no loss, do you mean no loss in Boff Slots, Character Slots, Costume Slots, Inventory Slots, etc... What I am asking is that if you were a gold before this F2P launch, as a silver do you still retain those things?

The features matrix (referenced in the blog entry) answers those questions clearly. Yes, you lose those those things. The ships, gear, and cash you accumulated is yours.

[Archived Post]

When you say "no loss," are you indicating the "no loss" is permanent? Or only for a limited time of the head start?

[Archived Post]

Early access is our way of thanking the many loyal customers who sat in the Captain’s chair during the past two years.

Uhm... while I get that this is a good thing for someone whose sub lapsed or who was only here for a little bit, how is this thanking lifers or those who have paid subscriptions for all this time? I'm just wondering if I'm missing something, which is entirely possible. :confused:

It's a nice gesture, though. I'll be interested in seeing how many people take up this offer.

[Archived Post]

The features matrix (referenced in the blog entry) answers those questions clearly. Yes, you lose those those things. The ships, gear, and cash you accumulated is yours.

I am aware of what the features matrix says, the statement of "no loss" in the blog is what is in question. The F2P matrix shows you will lose things, but that is contradicted by the statement in the blog post.

[Archived Post]

The features matrix (referenced in the blog entry) answers those questions clearly. Yes, you lose those those things. The ships, gear, and cash you accumulated is yours.

Actually, it doesn't answer those questions clearly. In the blog post:

The most important fact is that previous subscribers can jump right in and play their existing characters with no extra steps and no loss of anything they previously gained for their characters.

No loss of anything previously gained would include all the BOff slots gained through leveling, ship slots through leveling, vet rewards, etc. This needs to be cleared up ASAP before it causes another firestorm in the community. (it's been so quiet lately)

[Archived Post]

When you say no loss, do you mean no loss in Boff Slots, Character Slots, Costume Slots, Inventory Slots, etc... What I am asking is that if you were a gold before this F2P launch, as a silver do you still retain those things?

Silver accounts that had previously been subscribers(gold) will retain the character slots, boff slots and foundry project slots of gold accounts. Characters of such accounts will have the extra inventory slots due to rank up from whatever their last rank as a gold player was,

[Archived Post]

Uhm... while I get that this is a good thing for someone whose sub lapsed or who was only here for a little bit, how is this thanking lifers or those who have paid subscriptions for all this time? I'm just wondering if I'm missing something, which is entirely possible. :confused:

It's a nice gesture, though. I'll be interested in seeing how many people take up this offer.

You have earned your veteran rewards for the last two years, these people have not. That is one edge that you ahve over them. Your loyalty is rewarded every 100 days.

[Archived Post]

Some clarification is needed on the actual conversion process... (especially that no-lose statement...)

Does this mean that existing characters/BOs/ships/items/inventory that is not supported by 'Silver' accounts are placed in a 'in-active' state? And if so, what is the process to choose what remains 'active' and what becomes 'in-active'???

Edit:....
Silver accounts that had previously been subscribers(gold) will retain the character slots, boff slots and foundry project slots of gold accounts. Characters of such accounts will have the extra inventory slots due to rank up from whatever their last rank as a gold player was,

This provides some of the answers. (Though what about 'bound' items in lost inventory slots?)

[Archived Post]

Silver accounts that had previously been subscribers(gold) will retain the character slots, boff slots and foundry project slots of gold accounts. Characters of such accounts will have the extra inventory slots due to rank up from whatever their last rank as a gold player was,

Thank you very much for the clarification Rhepic, it is truely appreciated. It also seems like a good move to perhaps retain a portion of these past subscribers.

[Archived Post]

Some clarification is needed on the actual conversion process... (especially that no-lose statement...)

Does this mean that existing characters/BOs/ships/items/inventory that is not supported by 'Silver' accounts are placed in a 'in-active' state? And if so, what is the process to choose what remains 'active' and what becomes 'in-active'???

As far as I've read it goes like this: anything you've previously purchased via the C-Store is yours to keep.

[Archived Post]

Silver accounts that had previously been subscribers(gold) will retain the character slots, boff slots and foundry project slots of gold accounts. Characters of such accounts will have the extra inventory slots due to rank up from whatever their last rank as a gold player was,

Is this only available if you log in during the head start? Or anytime after?

This is critical to know before I announce this to all my contacts with lapsed accounts. I don't want to provide them the wrong information.

[Archived Post]

Is this only available if you log in during the head start? Or anytime after?

This is critical to know before I announce this to all my contacts with lapsed accounts. I don't want to provide them the wrong information.

This is the general policy for gold to silver conversions. It is not in any way limited to the head start period or people who subscribed before f2p.

[Archived Post]

This is the general policy for gold to silver conversions. It is not in any way limited to the head start period or people who subscribed before f2p.

Great to know! Thank you.

[Archived Post]

Silver accounts that had previously been subscribers(gold) will retain the character slots, boff slots and foundry project slots of gold accounts. Characters of such accounts will have the extra inventory slots due to rank up from whatever their last rank as a gold player was,

So if I let my sub lapse in three months (when it's next due for payment) and go "Silver" I'll basically lose nothing? I'll still keep my current inventory/bank slots, my current character slots, my current BOff slots and my current ship slots?

So if all my characters are VAs (and my main ones are) I'll only really lose the 400 CP stipend and have a currency cap by going "silver"?

If that's the case why would I pay for a sub after F2P goes live?

I think you need to put a third column in the F2P matrix about what you have when you "downgrade" to silver from gold. Because, I'm seeing no real reason to stay subbing.

[Archived Post]

This is the general policy for gold to silver conversions. It is not in any way limited to the head start period or people who subscribed before f2p.

Soo.. player who has subscribed before and has pretty much unlocked everything in the game so far up and including the latest vet rewards will be no different to any other gold player except for future vet rewards and newly created characters?

A former subscriber character retains his "gold" status without ever paying again?

well.. in that case you practically beg people to cancel their subs.... if you ever want to have another gold level character, just sub for one mont, power level the toon for all the unlocks and cancel again to circumvent all tose service unlocks in the c-store....how much money needed to bring a silver toon to gold specs?

[Archived Post]

Silver accounts that had previously been subscribers(gold) will retain the character slots, boff slots and foundry project slots of gold accounts. Characters of such accounts will have the extra inventory slots due to rank up from whatever their last rank as a gold player was,

Silver users will however lose access to XMPP chat, correct?

[Archived Post]

Silver accounts that had previously been subscribers(gold) will retain the character slots, boff slots and foundry project slots of gold accounts. Characters of such accounts will have the extra inventory slots due to rank up from whatever their last rank as a gold player was,
So being a gold member in f2p practically means paying 15$ for 400 cpoints "worth" 5$?

[Archived Post]

To everyone in here concerned right now, here is what I see as happening is if you were ever a gold and go to silver you will:


No longer gain Veteran Rewarrds
Will not get a 400cp Stipend
Have an EC cap
Not have priority login
Not auto-refine dilithium
Any New Character created on that account will have the Silver F2P limitations.


Thus you never lose anything you already have, you just don't gain.

Mind you look at what happened with DCUO's launch and SWTOR's launch, I have a feeling priority login is the one aspect of Gold Membership people are glazeing over. You will have the ability to bypass the queue and play the game. Given what has happened with those two launches I would say that is probably the best thing in the matrix. You can't use all the rest of the things you have if you can't get into the game.

[Archived Post]

So being a gold member in f2p practically means paying 15$ for 400 cpoints "worth" 5$?

Only if you dont run new toons ever again. I give them that much.
However anyone will now sub for 1 month and powerlevel like mad to get 2-3 toons to VA at least... which should be doable even with just playing on the weekends.
Screw the story experience and learning the skill system... you can get save a ****load of money by getting around all those c-store service unlocks.

[Archived Post]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't this open up a loop hole similar to why we lost the VA Ship Token? If I pay for one month ($15 USD) and level to max, I get those extra bank slots, inventory slots, BO slots, retrain tokens, foundry project slots and depending on how the stipend works, 400 Cryptic Points?

A Silver play would have to buy the following to be close to a gold member in terms of C-Store Items:
2 Additional Character Slots: 500
3x 12 Additional Inventory Slots: 960
4x 12 Additional Bank Slots*: 640
3x 2 Additional Bridge Officer Slots: 600
5x Respec Tokens: 2,000

Total Cryptic Points: 4,700**
Currently 1 USD = 80 Cryptic Points
Total Cost: 58.75 USD, or 62.50 USD for 5,000 Cryptic Points

So yea, I'm seeing a massive deal here. Pay for 1 month (15 USD), level up a character to max and save myself 43.75 USD. I save even more if I level more characters!

*You would need 5 of these to equal gold, but you can only purchase max of 4
**Not counting the possible stipend of 400 Cryptic Points

[Archived Post]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't this open up a loop hole similar to why we lost the VA Ship Token? If I pay for one month ($15 USD) and level to max, I get those extra bank slots, inventory slots, BO slots, retrain tokens, foundry project slots and depending on how the stipend works, 400 Cryptic Points?

A Silver play would have to buy the following to be close to a gold member in terms of C-Store Items:
2 Additional Character Slots: 500
3x 12 Additional Inventory Slots: 960
4x 12 Additional Bank Slots*: 640
3x 2 Additional Bridge Officer Slots: 600
5x Respec Tokens: 2,000

Total Cryptic Points: 4,700**
Currently 1 USD = 80 Cryptic Points
Total Cost: 58.75 USD, or 62.50 USD for 5,000 Cryptic Points

So yea, I'm seeing a massive deal here. Pay for 1 month (15 USD), level up a character to max and save myself 43.75 USD. I save even more if I level more characters!

*You would need 5 of these to equal gold, but you can only purchase max of 4
**Not counting the possible stipend of 400 Cryptic Points

And all that would be meaningless if you cannot log into the game to play it, i.e. priority login.

[Archived Post]

Does this also apply to people who've ever used a referral key, but never subscribed?

[Archived Post]

And all that would be meaningless if you cannot log into the game to play it, i.e. priority login.
And what exactly does that have to do with things? Priority Login simply pushes you up in the queue to login IF their is a queue in the first place. I seriously doubt the game will be flooded to the point where silver's cannot login at all.

[Archived Post]

And what exactly does that have to do with things? Priority Login simply pushes you up in the queue to login IF their is a queue in the first place. I seriously doubt the game will be flooded to the point where silver's cannot login at all.

Well, given that it is termed "Priority Login" with priority meaning "taking precidence" and not "Pushed up the Queue Login" I think it is probably safe to say this will allow you to bypass the queue and just enter into the game.

Now, as far as the game being flooded or not and if there will be a queue is pure conjecture and peronal opinion not factually relevant. Whether there will be a constnat queue or not I think it is safe to say that will remain unknown until 17-01. Noone can say either way, unless they can see the future and if so please let me know what the next MegaMillions Lottery numbers are. People can only give their opinions.

What does Priority Login have to do with things? Well everything. If you cannot log into the game to play it, everything you have in game is moot.

[Archived Post]

Well, given that it is termed "Priority Login" with priority meaning "taking precidence" and not "Pushed up the Queue Login" I think it is probably safe to say this will allow you to bypass the queue and just enter into the game.

Now, as far as the game being flooded or not and if there will be a queue is pure conjecture and peronal opinion not factually relevant. Whether there will be a constnat queue or not I think it is safe to say that will remain unknown until 17-01. Noone can say either way, unless they can see the future and if so please let me know what the next MegaMillions Lottery numbers are. People can only give their opinions.

What does Priority Login have to do with things? Well everything. If you cannot log into the game to play it, everything you have in game is moot.
That's not what Priority Login means. When server load becomes high, it begins to queue people before they can fully login. A silver account has to wait until additional resources are freed up by someone logging out. The Priority Login pushes a gold member in front of the line of silver. It does not mean the silver players do not get to play.

Seriously think about that for a moment; if silvers do not have priority login and using your logic that means they generally cannot login because of that, how is this game free-to-play exactly?

[Archived Post]

That's not what Priority Login means. When server load becomes high, it begins to queue people before they can fully login. A silver account has to wait until additional resources are freed up by someone logging out. The Priority Login pushes a gold member in front of the line of silver. It does not mean the silver players do not get to play.

Seriously think about that for a moment; if silvers do not have priority login and using your logic that means they generally cannot login because of that, how is this game free-to-play exactly?

Your logic seems to be flawed by contradicting yourself. You cannot say on one hand that silvers have to wait for resources to free up to login and then on the other say they will be unable to login when they are in the queue. Natuarlly, and logically, they will eventually move up the queue and enter the game.

I can see your point about Gold's beign "pushed up the queue" but honestly it would probably be wise for a dev to step in and explain how "Priority Login" will work rather than continue to conjecture. Following other games (i.e. DCUO) Legendary players bypass the queue with their "Priority Login".

[Archived Post]

Actually, it doesn't answer those questions clearly. In the blog post:



No loss of anything previously gained would include all the BOff slots gained through leveling, ship slots through leveling, vet rewards, etc. This needs to be cleared up ASAP before it causes another firestorm in the community. (it's been so quiet lately)

The Features Matrix is perfectly clear. In part:


Feature Gold Silver
----------------------------------------------------
Character Slots 3 2
Max Free Inventory 72 42
Max Free Bank Inventory 108 48

You're lawyer-ing the words "previously gained", looking for freebies.

[Archived Post]

This is the general policy for gold to silver conversions. It is not in any way limited to the head start period or people who subscribed before f2p.

Just want to get this straight. If you "Downgrade" and already have a full VA with all slots and go silver all you are losing is the 400 CP Stipend for your $15?

Somehow this just doesn't look right to the people who are still subscribing. If this is the case I see absolutely no reason to keep paying $15 a month if you are already set with your character ... You can buy more C-Points with the $15 as a silver member then you would get for your $15 as a Gold member ....

Right now I with I was a monthly paying subscriber, because I'd stop paying and go silver and I'd use the $15 to buy C-points. That way I'd have the exact same VA as a Gold member, but I'd have more C-Points then they would ...


Cryptic, How about showing the subscribers & LTS this kind of love ..... But we all know that ain't going to happen ....
You have a strange way of treating the people who have paid, and are paying to play this game, you give them less then the one who will stop paying ..... I just don't get why you treat us worse than people who aren't subscribers??? Could you please explain that to me ......

Thanks!

[Archived Post]

lets hope the proverbial cup runneth over....

[Archived Post]

The Features Matrix is perfectly clear. In part:


Feature Gold Silver
----------------------------------------------------
Character Slots 3 2
Max Free Inventory 72 42
Max Free Bank Inventory 108 48

You're lawyer-ing the words "previously gained", looking for freebies.
Actually, a earlier Dev post has alrady commented on this...


Silver accounts that had previously been subscribers(gold) will retain the character slots, boff slots and foundry project slots of gold accounts. Characters of such accounts will have the extra inventory slots due to rank up from whatever their last rank as a gold player was,
http://forums.startrekonline.com/showthread.php?p=3931701#post3931701

Notice that the comment is about 'extra' inventory slots gained by leveling. It does not state that 'original' inventory slots (which are reduced under 'Silver') is also covered...

[Archived Post]

The Features Matrix is perfectly clear. In part:


Feature Gold Silver
----------------------------------------------------
Character Slots 3 2
Max Free Inventory 72 42
Max Free Bank Inventory 108 48

You're lawyer-ing the words "previously gained", looking for freebies.

Rephic has already cleared this up. You do not lose anything you "previously gained" contrary to your first post.

From page 2:
Silver accounts that had previously been subscribers(gold) will retain the character slots, boff slots and foundry project slots of gold accounts. Characters of such accounts will have the extra inventory slots due to rank up from whatever their last rank as a gold player was,

[Archived Post]

Just want to get this straight. If you "Downgrade" and already have a full VA with all slots and go silver all you are losing is the 400 CP Stipend for your $15? !
Not exactly... you're forgetting about the 'Veteran's Reward' program... Even if you already have the 700 Day Reward, additional rewards have already been announced for 800, 900 and 1000 Day Veterans in the future...

[Archived Post]

Your logic seems to be flawed by contradicting yourself. You cannot say on one hand that silvers have to wait for resources to free up to login and then on the other say they will be unable to login when they are in the queue. Natuarlly, and logically, they will eventually move up the queue and enter the game.

I can see your point about Gold's beign "pushed up the queue" but honestly it would probably be wise for a dev to step in and explain how "Priority Login" will work rather than continue to conjecture. Following other games (i.e. DCUO) Legendary players bypass the queue with their "Priority Login".

Depends on what you mean by not being able to log in. The Queue has you there, waiting to log in compared to just flat out getting a "All Lines are Busy, Call again Later".

But to the point, as it stands, you do NOT loose your inventory/bank/BO slots when downgrading to silver if you already got them from leveling up while at gold. This means for 15 bucks, I can essentially gain 50 bucks worth of 'stuff' that I would have to buy if I wanted to stay silver. In essence, it is not a downgrade, it is a simple permission flip on weather you gain the extra slots on future leveling.

[Archived Post]

Just out of curiosity, now that we know the gold---->silver conversion causes no loss of character/boff slots for say, somewhat at vice admiral downgrading, what is the reverse?

What happens if a friend I bring in on f2p launch levels to vice admiral and then decides to subscribe? converting to gold while already vice admiral 1? Do they not get the slots because they weren't gold at the moment of level up?

[Archived Post]

Just out of curiosity, now that we know the gold---->silver conversion causes no loss of character/boff slots for say, somewhat at vice admiral downgrading, what is the reverse?

What happens if a friend I bring in on f2p launch levels to vice admiral and then decides to subscribe? converting to gold while already vice admiral 1? Do they not get the slots because they weren't gold at the moment of level up?

When you convert from silver to gold you will get all the slots that are due a gold player, including any rank based slots for ranks you earned before going gold.

[Archived Post]

When you convert from silver to gold you will get all the slots that are due a gold player, including any rank based slots for ranks you earned before going gold.

Then what if that person subs for a month, and then lets the sub lapse? Does he lose those slot again? If not, this creates a very large exploit. Get all the gold perks by subbing for 1 month, and then cancelling and keeping all those slots.

[Archived Post]

Then what if that person subs for a month, and then lets the sub lapse? Does he lose those slot again? If not, this creates a very large exploit. Get all the gold perks by subbing for 1 month, and then cancelling and keeping all those slots.

Agreed. Surely this can't be intended?

[Archived Post]

Will there be a free digital download of the game for the F2Prs starting tomorrow?

I ask this, because I just told a friend about this who said he had played very early in the game, but no longer has the disc he purchased, nor is the game still installed on his computer.
He said he would be happy to come back and see all the new stuff that I had told him about but he doesn't want to buy the game again to do it.

[Archived Post]

The way I've understood this is:

A person who subs for 1 month only gains the Character-level based things and the Gold things. They will NOT gain the veteran rewards, nor will they continue to build toward a vet reward after their sub expires.


Of course, I could be wrong. I think we need a Dev to bite the bullet and tell us line by line, point by point, item by item if this is correct.

They need to nip this speculation in the bud NOW.

[Archived Post]

When you convert from silver to gold you will get all the slots that are due a gold player, including any rank based slots for ranks you earned before going gold.

Then aside from the stipend and veteran rewards.... what is the point of even being a continous subscriber?

Whats to motivate people to actually subscribe month after month once they have ranked up their toons?
Because from where I'm sitting, Silver players are getting waaaay to many perks, and Gold isnt getting nearly enough.

[Archived Post]

Will there be a free digital download of the game for the F2Prs starting tomorrow?

I ask this, because I just told a friend about this who said he had played very early in the game, but no longer has the disc he purchased, nor is the game still installed on his computer.
He said he would be happy to come back and see all the new stuff that I had told him about but he doesn't want to buy the game again to do it.

Why wait until tomorrow?

http://www.startrekonline.com/download

That's been there since almost day one. Anyone can download the game at anytime. You just can't access the game without a Cryptic Account (or for a few days more a subscription at any point in time)

[Archived Post]

Silver accounts that had previously been subscribers(gold) will retain the character slots, boff slots and foundry project slots of gold accounts. Characters of such accounts will have the extra inventory slots due to rank up from whatever their last rank as a gold player was,

This is the general policy for gold to silver conversions. It is not in any way limited to the head start period or people who subscribed before f2p.

When you convert from silver to gold you will get all the slots that are due a gold player, including any rank based slots for ranks you earned before going gold.

I can't help but think that is a BAD policy that only encourages short subs and I don't see any good reason for a Gold player to stay Gold. I've previously compared the differences in the matrix and have again. In conclusion, I can say nothing more than do something more please to benefit Gold players and / or do something less for Silver players.

If I were subscribing (paying a monthly fee) I personally see no reason to stay Gold and with the current RL economic issues in my area and many others, I would make a sensible decision to use the little money I have for other means, even though I would love to support this game to the best capacity I could if I had the money to do so, because I do love this game and the dev team is pretty awesome tbf.

As others have previously mentioned, this does possibly create a loop hole allowing short subs to gain substantially and then cancel their sub, going Silver with some (not all) Gold benefits.

If I were to change or add three things to the matrix, this is what I would do:


I'd do the opposite of what is quoted from Rehpic, so if you cancel your sub you loose what you gained from subbing, any Boffs or items in slots removed would then be mailed to the @handle or go into the players overflow bag.


I'd make it so FEs free to GOLD, individually unlockable for Silver.


I'd make it so STFs free to GOLD, individually unlockable for Silver.


Whatever is unlocked via the C-Store is obviously permanently unlocked, but...

Cryptic, why aren't you giving players a reason to subscribe?

[Archived Post]

Maybe some future FE-like missions will be gold restricted?

More idle speculation please!

[Archived Post]

Maybe some future FE-like missions will be gold restricted?

More idle speculation please!

Cryptic/PW doesnt sell content, they sell items. They let people play the content for free but want you to buy cool new toys to play it with.

[Archived Post]

Silver accounts that had previously been subscribers(gold) will retain the character slots, boff slots and foundry project slots of gold accounts. Characters of such accounts will have the extra inventory slots due to rank up from whatever their last rank as a gold player was,

There has to be a mistake somewhere. If a gold player has reached VA and never bought additional bank slots, exactly how many bank slots will he have after switching to silver?

[Archived Post]

Starting tomorrow anyone with a lapsed subscription to Star Trek Online will be able to log into the game and play...

i have a question, 1 month ago i had a free Alienware Promotion with 10 Day, will i be able to play tomorow?
same question about Friend Referral Trial accounts...
tnx

[Archived Post]

From Cryptics point of view if they let everybody know about this update it gives an incentive for many many more people to one off subscribe than may do now. It basically gives more of an incentive for a lot of people to put a small amount of money into the game, most likely at the Captain level when they have to spend a small fortune in dilithium to get a ship. Give them their dues they make money from this tactic.

Sure it may not look good for current gold subscribers, but we are only here with our stipends to fuel the dilithium economy anyway.

[Archived Post]

Actually, a earlier Dev post has alrady commented on this...



http://forums.startrekonline.com/showthread.php?p=3931701#post3931701

Notice that the comment is about 'extra' inventory slots gained by leveling. It does not state that 'original' inventory slots (which are reduced under 'Silver') is also covered...

I've been corrected. My apologies, Kobayashi Maru.

[Archived Post]

I'd do the opposite of what is quoted from Rehpic, so if you cancel your sub you loose what you gained from subbing, any Boffs or items in slots removed would then be mailed to the @handle or go into the players overflow bag.


I'd make it so FEs free to GOLD, individually unlockable for Silver.


I'd make it so STFs free to GOLD, individually unlockable for Silver.


Whatever is unlocked via the C-Store is obviously permanently unlocked, but...

Cryptic, why aren't you giving players a reason to subscribe?

I've been supporting some of these options since they announced the F2P matrix. The only changes I would make would be that FE would be free for everyone after their "special perk" period. Make a C-store Option to immediately unlock the episodes to play them as they release and be able to earn the "limited time" Item. But after that grace period and the special item goes away then it should be unlocked for everyone. It'll still be free content.....just later!

[Archived Post]

Cryptic/PW doesnt sell content, they sell items. They let people play the content for free but want you to buy cool new toys to play it with.

As Cryptic has been so fond of saying in the past: "Plans change". They may very well decide to try selling mission packs or featured series sometime in the future.

Cue ominous music. :p

[Archived Post]

I've been corrected. My apologies, Kobayashi Maru.

I'd love to be corrected too. Can we find out the precise number of bank slots a Gold to Silver player will have, please?

[Archived Post]

right on Main page

http://startrekonline.com/f2p_features

[Archived Post]

You have earned your veteran rewards for the last two years, these people have not. That is one edge that you ahve over them. Your loyalty is rewarded every 100 days.

Until they decide to take away those rewards, or change their mind about a stated reward and make it something else instead.

[Archived Post]

I'd love to be corrected too. Can we find out the precise number of bank slots a Gold to Silver player will have, please?
Agreed... Now the F2P Matrix does state for 'Gold'/'Silver' accounts...

Max Free Inventory: 72 / 42
Max Free Bank Inventory: 108 / 48

But are any existing 'Gold' bonuses 'grandfathered' in the 'Gold' to 'Silver' conversion???

[Archived Post]

Loyalty. I don't think that word means what you think it does.

[Archived Post]

i have a question, 1 month ago i had a free Alienware Promotion with 10 Day, will i be able to play tomorow?
same question about Friend Referral Trial accounts...
tnx

Anyone know the answer to this question? interested because i play to on friend referral trial ..

[Archived Post]

Agreed... Now the F2P Matrix does state for 'Gold'/'Silver' accounts...

Max Free Inventory: 72 / 42
Max Free Bank Inventory: 108 / 48

But are any existing 'Gold' bonuses 'grandfathered' in the 'Gold' to 'Silver' conversion???

A Dev already answered this, in this thread even. :D

[Archived Post]

Then what if that person subs for a month, and then lets the sub lapse? Does he lose those slot again? If not, this creates a very large exploit. Get all the gold perks by subbing for 1 month, and then cancelling and keeping all those slots.

This happens in a LOT of F2P MMO's as a way of tempting you to at least spend some money and/or sub for a while..

LoTRO, Players who brought Mines of Moria, were bumped to Premium, and afterwards kept thier unlocks.
DCUO, Players who spend 500 points get bumped to premium status with permanent unlocks.

It's probably intentional, and it's not considered an exploit, it's an incentive to sub/pay money.

[Archived Post]

Blah, blah, blah! Who's going to stay and play this game with issues like the major crackling audio on the ground and toilet flushing in space portions of certain missions? Even for free, a headache isn't going to help increase the player base. Talk is cheap! Especially when it comes from Stephen! Do something productive and fix the issues with this game!

[Archived Post]

This happens in a LOT of F2P MMO's as a way of tempting you to at least spend some money and/or sub for a while..

LoTRO, Players who brought Mines of Moria, were bumped to Premium, and afterwards kept thier unlocks.
DCUO, Players who spend 500 points get bumped to premium status with permanent unlocks.

It's probably intentional, and it's not considered an exploit, it's an incentive to sub/pay money.

It's only incentive to sub for a short period of time though, it creates more incentive to sub and then cancel, rather than sub and stay subbed.

I mean honestly, if they can create enough incentive for non subscribers to use the C-Store then it's fine, but I don't think there's much in the C-Store currently that is incentive enough to keep Silvers using the C-Store preventing them from literally playing for free and contributing nothing.

It's unlikely they'll change the policy Rephic has mentioned so I just hope they can continue to add enough to the C-Store on STO to keep the money flowing.

Champions Online has been F2P a lot longer and ha a substantially larger number of C-Store items available as wall as adventure packs, allowing Silvers to unlock new content.

I believe it's incredibly important to have a number of items in the C-Store that can be purchased multiple times and that have enough value to be wanted more than once. Now the "grab bag" Holiday Packages are an example of this, others may not support it but if policy stays as it is, C-Store items such as this will be highly valued by the company to continue the business model, keep the game running, improving and expanding.

[Archived Post]

A Dev already answered this, in this thread even. :D
Actually...
Silver accounts that had previously been subscribers(gold) will retain the character slots, boff slots and foundry project slots of gold accounts. Characters of such accounts will have the extra inventory slots due to rank up from whatever their last rank as a gold player was,

OK, the Dev's did comment on Inventory Slots being 'grandfathered' in...

So does this only leave 'Veterans Rewards' and 'Referral Rewards' as the only motivation to maintain a sub?

...I mean honestly, if they can create enough incentive for non subscribers to use the C-Store then it's fine, but I don't think there's much in the C-Store currently that is incentive enough to keep Silvers using the C-Store preventing them from literally playing for free and contributing nothing.
.
Though keep in mind that even if you have a player who's a freeloader and purchases all of his C-Points on the Dilithium Exchange, he is still providing a ready market for people who do purchase C-Store points to sell for Dilithium, and keeping the paying customer happy...

[Archived Post]

You have earned your veteran rewards for the last two years, these people have not. That is one edge that you ahve over them. Your loyalty is rewarded every 100 days.

Such a reward... 100 days, fifteen dollars every thirty days... hey, they only cost fifty dollars each! So fifty bucks for a respec and a badge. Fifty more for a ship slot and a jacket. Fifty more for a respec and a shuttle. Fifty more for a ship slot a jacket. Fifty more for a respec, a single use VA token and two costume slots. Fifty more for a character slot (that we don't have yet) and a bridge officer!

So, as far as pieces go we get about one full costume set, but still let's say each was one and bump that up to three (yes I'm counting a badge as a full costume) so about a 720CP value. Three respecs, around 1,200CP. Two character slots is 500CP. Two costume slots is 200 CP. One shuttle is 400CP and One vice admiral ship (even though it's a limited unlock, I'll count it as a full unlock, anyway) is 1,200CP. And one BOff, which go for about 160CP.

So about a 4380CP value, which means less then $60 worth of swag... and it only cost you $350 dollars! BARGAIN!

To everyone in here concerned right now, here is what I see as happening is if you were ever a gold and go to silver you will:


No longer gain Veteran Rewarrds
Will not get a 400cp Stipend
Have an EC cap
Not have priority login
Not auto-refine dilithium
Any New Character created on that account will have the Silver F2P limitations.


The Veteran Rewards aren't worth it.

The stipend is 1/3 the cost of a monthly subscription.

There is an EC cap on both Silver AND Gold, and both are astronomically high. Thus it's meaningless.

Priority login has never worked properly in Cryptic's games. The servers don't lock and queue, instead they clog and crash. We've already seen this multiple times across STO and CO (LTSers have always had priority in both games and it has never helped).

Auto-refining dilithium is worthless.

This isn't an alt-heavy game where you need a lot of characters. It might have been slightly convenient before when ship skills were almost down to individual ships, but now (so Cryptic can move more CStore ships) you can basically fly any ship with any character with little loss in effectiveness. Besides, you can easily cap six characters in one month (one from each profession in both factions).

Loyalty. I don't think that word means what you think it does.

Indeed. You'd think the "loyal" ones would be the people still here. Where's the massive reward for not just subscribing previously, but currently and through a ten month content drought?

[Archived Post]

My problem is this; we were told that one of the main reasons to remove the VA Ship Token was because a silver player could subscribe just before leveling to VA and get the token for a one month subscription. NOW it seems a silver can at any time, subscribe 1 month and essentially get 4700+ Crypic Points Worth of upgrades that will STICK when their subscription ends.

So somehow, stopping the loop hole for 1200-1800 ship is more important than stopping a loop hole for 4,700+ Cryptic Points of services. Maybe I'm wrong, but I could have sworn 4700 is GREATER THAN 1800.

Also, this is not just limited to the early F2P release as stated here:
This is the general policy for gold to silver conversions. It is not in any way limited to the head start period or people who subscribed before f2p.

This is the general policy, so unless Cryptic would like to clarify that further I think it's pretty clear that from here on, any gold (either started as gold or as silver) that goes back to silver, KEEPS their slots on their current characters.

[Archived Post]

This is the general policy, so unless Cryptic would like to clarify that further I think it's pretty clear that from here on, any gold (either started as gold or as silver) that goes back to silver, KEEPS their slots on their current characters.

I'ma gonna be ticked if there was absolutely no reason to get a LTS. I thought all my characters would have their storage space halved if I went to Silver? Has this thing about previous subscribers been mentioned elsewhere?

[Archived Post]

Will there be a free digital download of the game for the F2Prs starting tomorrow?

I ask this, because I just told a friend about this who said he had played very early in the game, but no longer has the disc he purchased, nor is the game still installed on his computer.
He said he would be happy to come back and see all the new stuff that I had told him about but he doesn't want to buy the game again to do it.

The download is available here:

http://www.startrekonline.com/download

[Archived Post]

The way I've understood this is:

A person who subs for 1 month only gains the Character-level based things and the Gold things. They will NOT gain the veteran rewards, nor will they continue to build toward a vet reward after their sub expires.


Of course, I could be wrong. I think we need a Dev to bite the bullet and tell us line by line, point by point, item by item if this is correct.

They need to nip this speculation in the bud NOW.

You only accrue days towards veteran rewards when you have an active subscription. Any veteran rewards you have already earned will still be accessible if you cancel your subscription and convert to silver.

[Archived Post]

The download is available here:

http://www.startrekonline.com/download

Thank you. I'll shoot him the link.

[Archived Post]

This needs to be cleared up ASAP before it causes another firestorm in the community. (it's been so quiet lately)


I haven't laughed this hard in weeks. Thanks Kobayashi - you really made my day.

Oh - to stay on topic - I'm a lifer. I miss some of my friends who stopped subbing - some because of the content drought and a few others because the economy sucks so bad even $15/mo is hard to throw away.

I know a few of them are looking forward to coming back now that the game is going F2P and I will be very happy to see them again. I missed them very much. :(

[Archived Post]

Not exactly... you're forgetting about the 'Veteran's Reward' program... Even if you already have the 700 Day Reward, additional rewards have already been announced for 800, 900 and 1000 Day Veterans in the future...

You mean the items they are giving out after each 100 days subscribed? if you feel that they are worth the over $50 you pay for them minus the $15 - 20 in C-Points instead of using the same money to buy C-Points then good for you, I don't .....


I've been a subscribing member since day 1 and my VA character will be exactly the same (minus existing Veteran rewards) as someone who made a VA character the first month and hasn't pay a dime since....

I'm sorry but I see something wrong with that.....
This means they are rewarding the people who left, yet they keep taking things away from all of us who stayed.....

It is the way Cryptic is treating the players who have stuck with them that is going to wind up killing this game. They are treating people who haven't spent a dime in over a year better than the one who have been here....

Example: We had access to T-3 ships, but they have taken that access away from us. We had a VA token taken from us and moved into a veteran reward.... We have had 250 emblem taken from us and have had NOTHING put in its place .... They are treating the existing LOYAL player base like .... well you know what they are treating us like......

All I'm saying is they should treat the loyal customers better, and they aren't!

[Archived Post]

I haven't laughed this hard in weeks. Thanks Kobayashi - you really made my day.

Oh - to stay on topic - I'm a lifer. I miss some of my friends who stopped subbing - some because of the content drought and a few others because the economy sucks so bad even $15/mo is hard to throw away.

I know a few of them are looking forward to coming back now that the game is going F2P and I will be very happy to see them again. I missed them very much. :(

Yes ,Please no need for any more Tribble Gates or revisements to previously promised Cryptic loyalty rewards programs that people both enjoy and appreciate.

I once had the privilege of being in a Star Fleet Command Fleet with 250 Registered board members.
I am the only one left here. Because like LEgacy the MMO aspects for more control and Empire Building were missing.

They preferred Klingon as we had no Romulan Option available to us.
I can see STO DEV team point of view as its almost like creating 3 separate mini games with limited resources and not meet the quality the Federation Episodes or Bringing Down the House do equally.
The Captains Level Story Missions the KDF has are ncily written and give a perspective one can get your teeth in

The hope here is for this year to see the proper growth in community understanding and DEV commitment supported to further our equal love of this thing we call TREK.

Thank you for the Gret early templates being build on and not completly forgotten in a rush to just throw somethign out.

[Archived Post]

All this says is that old gold accounts that go silver will be treated the same as current ones that go silver. Sounds fair to me.

[Archived Post]

I'd love to be corrected too. Can we find out the precise number of bank slots a Gold to Silver player will have, please?

Inventory slots by rank for gold players:

* Ensign - 42
* Lieutenant - 42
* Lt. Commander - 48
* Commander - 54
* Captain - 60
* Rear Adm., Lower - 66
* Rear Adm., Upper - 66
* Vice Adm. - 72

Bank slots by rank for gold players:

* Ensign - 48
* Lieutenant - 48
* Lt. Commander - 60
* Commander - 72
* Captain - 84
* Rear Adm., Lower - 96
* Rear Adm., Upper - 96
* Vice Adm. - 108

A silver player that has never been gold will have the ensign values (42 inventory, 48 bank). A silver player that was previously gold will have the number of slots for whatever rank they were at the time they converted from gold to silver.

Both gold and silver players can buy an additional 36 inventory slots and an additional 48 bank slots from the C-Store. The only way to get the maximum number of slots (108 inventory, 156 bank) is to buy all the slots available from the c-store, and have had at gold subscription while also being at VA rank. Pure silver players can't just buy more slots in the C-Store to make up for the slots they don't get by never having had a gold account.

[Archived Post]

Will F2P Early Access players have access to Tribble Test Server? I wanted to get some old people to come back but I'd rather have them try out stuff on Tribble instead of the current Holodeck build that's not they're going to see on Jan 17. The F2P matrix does not talk about access to tribble test server

[Archived Post]

i have a question, 1 month ago i had a free Alienware Promotion with 10 Day, will i be able to play tomorow?
same question about Friend Referral Trial accounts...
tnx

No, various trial promotions do not count for the early access.

[Archived Post]

Will F2P Early Access players have access to Tribble Test Server? I wanted to get some old people to come back but I'd rather have them try out stuff on Tribble instead of the current Holodeck build that's not they're going to see on Jan 17. The F2P matrix does not talk about access to tribble test server

The stuff on tribble now will be live on holodeck tomorrow.

And yes, legacy early access silver players should have access to tribble tomorrow too.

[Archived Post]

To be clear:

The only changes when a gold player goes silver are:

Accruing vet rewards.
No more free ship tokens while leveling (unless they already have the 600 day vet reward, then they get ONE at VA).
No monthly stipend.
No auto-refinement of dilithium.

[Archived Post]

What time does the early start open?

[Archived Post]

To be clear:

The only changes when a gold player goes silver are:

Accruing vet rewards.
No more free ship tokens while leveling (unless they already have the 600 day vet reward, then they get ONE at VA).
No monthly stipend.
No auto-refinement of dilithium.

D'Angelo should really start opening these dev diary and f2p blogs with:

And in yet another "screw you" to those who've supported us these many dry months, I present the following...

[Archived Post]

Inventory slots by rank for gold players:

* Ensign - 42
* Lieutenant - 42
* Lt. Commander - 48
* Commander - 54
* Captain - 60
* Rear Adm., Lower - 66
* Rear Adm., Upper - 66
* Vice Adm. - 72

Bank slots by rank for gold players:

* Ensign - 48
* Lieutenant - 48
* Lt. Commander - 60
* Commander - 72
* Captain - 84
* Rear Adm., Lower - 96
* Rear Adm., Upper - 96
* Vice Adm. - 108

A silver player that has never been gold will have the ensign values (42 inventory, 48 bank). A silver player that was previously gold will have the number of slots for whatever rank they were at the time they converted from gold to silver.

Both gold and silver players can buy an additional 36 inventory slots and an additional 48 bank slots from the C-Store. The only way to get the maximum number of slots (108 inventory, 156 bank) is to buy all the slots available from the c-store, and have had at gold subscription while also being at VA rank. Pure silver players can't just buy more slots in the C-Store to make up for the slots they don't get by never having had a gold account.

Thank you for taking the time to post the numbers. I did not realize that Golds wouldn't have to make ANY sacrifices when they switched to Silver. It seemed logical....... after reading the F2P Q&A.

"Q: I canceled my Star Trek Online subscription, but I'm interested in becoming a Silver Player. Will I have the same access to the game as I did previously?

"Your characters are still available, but they may not use Gold features. To play them as a Silver Player, you will need to convert them before playing. Additionally, Gold Members and Silver Players differ in Star Trek Online. A player who previously subscribed to Star Trek Online and then returned to game as a Silver Player will not have the same exact features provided to Gold Members. The Features Matrix describes these differences in more detail."

I admit, I am the biggest fool in the world for buying your discounted LTS last month. I think I must have had some trust left.

[Archived Post]

D'Angelo should really start opening these dev diary and f2p blogs with:

And in yet another "screw you" to those who've supported us these many dry months, I present the following...

Well, it goes back to what I said all along.

I'd be happy if vet rewards got a buff and they made that the reason to sub, maybe adjust the existing rewards into 90 day increments instead of 100 days and come up with rewards at the 30 and 60 day increments.

[Archived Post]

D'Angelo should really start opening these dev diary and f2p blogs with:

And in yet another "screw you" to those who've supported us these many dry months, I present the following...

Don't get me wrong. I think I get a lot of the reasoning. It hurt Champs F2P when returning players couldn't access their toons at all.

I'd have no problem with everything that's currently "Gold" going "Silver." But then they should be coming up with reasons to play Gold.

Even if the goal is to make people feel comfortable without subbing, you can make Gold something other than a subscription and make money off of some kind of 30 day quality of life pack on the C-Store.

[Archived Post]

It really saddens me and angers me to see Cryptic constantly devaluing our subscriptions more and more. :mad:

[Archived Post]

Inventory slots by rank for gold players:

* Ensign - 42
* Lieutenant - 42
* Lt. Commander - 48
* Commander - 54
* Captain - 60
* Rear Adm., Lower - 66
* Rear Adm., Upper - 66
* Vice Adm. - 72

Bank slots by rank for gold players:

* Ensign - 48
* Lieutenant - 48
* Lt. Commander - 60
* Commander - 72
* Captain - 84
* Rear Adm., Lower - 96
* Rear Adm., Upper - 96
* Vice Adm. - 108

A silver player that has never been gold will have the ensign values (42 inventory, 48 bank). A silver player that was previously gold will have the number of slots for whatever rank they were at the time they converted from gold to silver.

Both gold and silver players can buy an additional 36 inventory slots and an additional 48 bank slots from the C-Store. The only way to get the maximum number of slots (108 inventory, 156 bank) is to buy all the slots available from the c-store, and have had at gold subscription while also being at VA rank. Pure silver players can't just buy more slots in the C-Store to make up for the slots they don't get by never having had a gold account.

What about a silver leveling captains to VA (lets say 5 captains), then buying a sub, gaining the additional slots now that they are gold, then unsubbing, and keeping those slots when they go back to silver? That seems like a much cheaper way for silvers to gain bank slots than through the cstore...

[Archived Post]

Silver accounts that had previously been subscribers(gold) will retain the character slots, boff slots and foundry project slots of gold accounts. Characters of such accounts will have the extra inventory slots due to rank up from whatever their last rank as a gold player was,

That's...actually pretty cool. For the first time in a while I'm reacting to a Cryptic policy statement with something other than indifference or grudging toleration. It's definitely the best way to get old players to come back: telling them "you have to give up a bunch of stuff to play again" would really kill their enthusiasm. It also creates something of a de-facto "premium' user class in between subscribers and free players, which is something I've seen in other f2p MMOs and thought would be a good idea here.

I may ask questions later, but it will be because I like knowing and understanding what to expect, not because I'm skeptically looking for hidden catches.

[Archived Post]

To everyone in here concerned right now, here is what I see as happening is if you were ever a gold and go to silver you will:


No longer gain Veteran Rewarrds
Will not get a 400cp Stipend
Have an EC cap
Not have priority login
Not auto-refine dilithium
Any New Character created on that account will have the Silver F2P limitations.


Thus you never lose anything you already have, you just don't gain.

Mind you look at what happened with DCUO's launch and SWTOR's launch, I have a feeling priority login is the one aspect of Gold Membership people are glazeing over. You will have the ability to bypass the queue and play the game. Given what has happened with those two launches I would say that is probably the best thing in the matrix. You can't use all the rest of the things you have if you can't get into the game.

You also lose the ability to CREATE foundry missions, though you can still play foundry missions.

[Archived Post]

You also lose the ability to CREATE foundry missions, though you can still play foundry missions.

Nope. A new Silver has to buy creation slots for dilithium but can create. A Gold who goes silver gets 8 slots.

There is NO sensible reason not to go gGold for one month. There are very few reasons to go Gold for two.

[Archived Post]

That's...actually pretty cool. For the first time in a while I'm reacting to a Cryptic policy statement with something other than indifference or grudging toleration. It's definitely the best way to get old players to come back: telling them "you have to give up a bunch of stuff to play again" would really kill their enthusiasm. It also creates something of a de-facto "premium' user class in between subscribers and free players, which is something I've seen in other f2p MMOs and thought would be a good idea here.

I agree with this. As the game moves forward there will be plenty of opportunities to give perks to Gold players, but a good chunk of silvers will be returning players, at least at the outset. If they are enthused, and spend $$ on the C-store, that's revenue that can go to content.

Likewise, if subbing for a month gets some extra perks, that's still cash in hand for Cryptic, which means resources for development.

This game has NEVER suffered from apathy or lack of motivation on the part of the Developer staff. This game has, however, had chronic resource issues. Atari was choking the life out of Cryptic. I for one am looking forward to mid 2012 when the transition to PWE's rather successful practices is done, and the game can really hit its stride.

[Archived Post]

LOL regular players shafted for people who left, what else is new. Cryptics up to their old tricks, I'm a lifer but this is why I don't even log in anymore, hell I didn't even log in when TOR went down for maintenance.

[Archived Post]

Cryptic, one day, sometime in the distant future, when the Gamma Quadrant patch comes along....

Please make an effort to come to some kind of an arrangement with the Prophets, so that they only let Gold players through the wormhole for free, and any Silver players must offer a sacrifice to the Prophets! lol

But seriously... I'm being serious, why are you looking at me like that? :)

P.S. You have a Q working for you here on the forum, an omnipotent being and none of you ever thought to ask him for a favour? :eek: :p heh

[Archived Post]

Silver accounts that had previously been subscribers(gold) will retain the character slots, boff slots and foundry project slots of gold accounts. Characters of such accounts will have the extra inventory slots due to rank up from whatever their last rank as a gold player was,

just quoting this to remind people i've been repeatedly stating this when people keep asking and nobody seems to get that.

so next time someone asks this I know where to quote it

As far as I've read it goes like this: anything you've previously purchased via the C-Store is yours to keep.

no that isn't what it means at all. what it DOES mean is anything you have already earned, whether that is from the cstore or from normal play you keep. the dev in the quote above stated this clearly

If that's the case why would I pay for a sub after F2P goes live?

is this a serious question? people have been saying that since the matrix was announced. there is currently no incentive to go gold

Mind you look at what happened with DCUO's launch and SWTOR's launch, I have a feeling priority login is the one aspect of Gold Membership people are glazeing over.

not really. look at the state of the game and also remember its a star trek game. if people are seriously expecting some massive floodgate of players to open they're going to be sorely disappointed. give it a month or so for the people that have been watching to give it a try and see what its really like and see how many actually stay. priority logins in this game are a joke

and comparing this launch to either of those two games is absurd

The Features Matrix is perfectly clear. In part:


Feature Gold Silver
----------------------------------------------------
Character Slots 3 2
Max Free Inventory 72 42
Max Free Bank Inventory 108 48

You're lawyer-ing the words "previously gained", looking for freebies.

what? lol read what the dev said. what hes saying is what you already have is effectively grandfathered with the characters that already exist

Then what if that person subs for a month, and then lets the sub lapse? Does he lose those slot again?

I would think yes.

Maybe some future FE-like missions will be gold restricted?

they have already repeatedly stated that no content will ever be gold restricted. don't start false rumors

There has to be a mistake somewhere. If a gold player has reached VA and never bought additional bank slots, exactly how many bank slots will he have after switching to silver?

thats not a mistake. the answer to that question is simple: said player retains the bank slots he had before going silver.

So does this only leave 'Veterans Rewards' and 'Referral Rewards' as the only motivation to maintain a sub?

that and foundry access. but i'd hardly call the it worth it to pay $15 a month to pay cryptic to make content for them

but a good chunk of silvers will be returning players

who says many players will return? many left because they don't like the crap cryptic has been pulling over the last 2 years

[Archived Post]

Nope. A new Silver has to buy creation slots for dilithium but can create. A Gold who goes silver gets 8 slots.

There is NO sensible reason not to go gGold for one month. There are very few reasons to go Gold for two.

Hey... they'll raise the level cap to Fleet Admiral eventually. There's your reason for month two!

Now month three is going to be a ***** unless they raise the level cap to the point where there's thousands of Federation Presidents running around, or to the point of Q'dom where our characters ascend to transdimensional beings above the petty notions of admiralty.

So for thirty bucks a Silver can permanently buy about 99.999% of what an LTSer (I believe around the Cryptic offices the "S" is believed to stand for "sucker") buys for three hundred. Basically the Silver Account will miss out on a stipend of points that won't pay off that $270 deficit for about 68 months (that's five years and eight months btw), oh and about fifty bucks worth of trinkets dolled out at 100 day intervals.

I agree with this. As the game moves forward there will be plenty of opportunities to give perks to Gold players...

Do you think they're actually going to?

We were told since launch that there were more perks coming to LTSers and, hey, guess what? None came, and none are coming. And we were told to expect it then, we have zero assurances now, and you can be pretty darned sure there's a reason for that.

[Archived Post]

Do remember that most of you lifers have had just under 2 years worth of play time already, so be sure to include that in your calculations for how much you are 'owed'.

@ Cryptic, 95% of what you've been doing lately has been great, keep it up!

That said, do consider adding something else to Gold (not taking away from ex-Gold Silvers) to make it abit more worth while to sub, its in everyone's best interest.

[Archived Post]

That sounds fantastic!

[Archived Post]

Do remember that most of you lifers have had just under 2 years worth of play time already, so be sure to include that in your calculations for how much you are 'owed'.

@ Cryptic, 95% of what you've been doing lately has been great, keep it up!

That said, do consider adding something else to Gold (not taking away from ex-Gold Silvers) to make it abit more worth while to sub, its in everyone's best interest.

I pretty much agree with all that.

[Archived Post]

Do remember that most of you lifers have had just under 2 years worth of play time already, so be sure to include that in your calculations for how much you are 'owed'.

@ Cryptic, 95% of what you've been doing lately has been great, keep it up!

That said, do consider adding something else to Gold (not taking away from ex-Gold Silvers) to make it abit more worth while to sub, its in everyone's best interest.

I bought my LTS on 12/6/11, due to the sale. I know I am an idiot for believing these creeps run an honest business.

[Archived Post]

Do remember that most of you lifers have had just under 2 years worth of play time already, so be sure to include that in your calculations for how much you are 'owed'

It's been about 23 months since launch. An LTS is about 300 bucks. At $15 dollars a month (the highest possible sub rate) that would equate to 20 months of subbing at a sub-par rate, or about $13 a month, so about a $2 rebate from the highest subscription rate.

Now take into account that, even forgetting about all of the other months where there was no real content released, there was a drought of content for ten straight months (so yeah, that one drought was nearly half STO's entire lifespan) where we all financed the game and apparently the F2P conversion during which no real content of substance was added, and realistically everyone could have (and most did) stopped playing and missed little or nothing, this despite the fact that LTSers had no option to stop paying, since they paid in advance at rates which don't even constitute a 14% rebate.

And of course they certainly didn't stop selling LTSes at launch. In fact there are people here who have bought LTSes since F2P was announced.

Don't forget to factor that into your "just under 2 years worth of play time".

[Archived Post]

Ok the way I understand this and what the Dev has said in this post, Only existing Gold members get to keep their stuff if/when they go to Silver. That means any one who currently has a subscription previous to F2P (tomorrow). So any new accounts wouldn't get the same thing by subscribing for a month and then stopping. Just my interpretation, but I'm pretty sure I'm right. Wouldn't hurt to get this confirmed by a Dev though.

[Archived Post]

LTS has more value due to the risk associated with paying all up front. Let's also remember that a good number of LTS most likely bought all the items in the C-Store up until a few months ago and some of us have actually bought MULTIPLE LTS in the course of the game. LTS should be one of the valued customers because of our demestration of loyalty. Instead, we get shuned and scammed.

Not trying downplay the montly subscribers, they are getting scammed as well. This latest illeration shows Cryptic once again taking away from their paying customers (VA Tokens) for what seemed like a resonable reason at the time, only to turn out they are going against the reasoning they layed out on larger issues.

Seriously, we don't want silvers getting a $20 ship by subscribing for one month for $15; but we are totally fine with them getting $50+ of services for $15.

Ok the way I understand this and what the Dev has said in this post, Only existing Gold members get to keep their stuff if/when they go to Silver. That means any one who currently has a subscription previous to F2P (tomorrow). So any new accounts wouldn't get the same thing by subscribing for a month and then stopping. Just my interpretation, but I'm pretty sure I'm right. Wouldn't hurt to get this confirmed by a Dev though.
No, the dev stated that this gold to silver conversion will be the general policy. That means when F2P goes live and a player starts out at silver, levels up to VA and pays for 1 month subscription, they will get all the slots permenantly on their existing characters, even after their 'gold' subscription runs out.

[Archived Post]

Heres a thought Cryptic cold jump on

Subscription (either Gold or Lifetime) could also cover Champions Online aswell, then you have basically gotten two games for your money and can jump between when you want a change

how does that sound considering they are on the same account anyway?

[Archived Post]

I don't recognize that bridge in the picture. Is it one in the game? :confused:

[Archived Post]

I don't recognize that bridge in the picture. Is it one in the game? :confused:yeah thats the Defiant/tactical bridge

[Archived Post]

Ok the way I understand this and what the Dev has said in this post, Only existing Gold members get to keep their stuff if/when they go to Silver. That means any one who currently has a subscription previous to F2P (tomorrow). So any new accounts wouldn't get the same thing by subscribing for a month and then stopping. Just my interpretation, but I'm pretty sure I'm right. Wouldn't hurt to get this confirmed by a Dev though.

Nope...

This is the general policy for gold to silver conversions. It is not in any way limited to the head start period or people who subscribed before f2p.

It applies to everyone, including those subbing later.

Heres a thought Cryptic cold jump on

Subscription (either Gold or Lifetime) could also cover Champions Online aswell, then you have basically gotten two games for your money and can jump between when you want a change

how does that sound considering they are on the same account anyway?

*looks at my CO LTS*

Sounds lousy to me. Maybe if I start getting a quadruple-sized cross-game stipend I might be okay with that...

[Archived Post]

*looks at my CO LTS*

Sounds lousy to me. Maybe if I start getting a quadruple-sized cross-game stipend I might be okay with that...

Well yeah, the bonus points would have to be cross game (no idea why they aren't right now either to be honest) but yeah, for those that have a LTS for both, yah I could see there would still be a mismatch, but would it be an acceptable one for things to gel and get better?

[Archived Post]

Ok the way I understand this and what the Dev has said in this post, Only existing Gold members get to keep their stuff if/when they go to Silver. That means any one who currently has a subscription previous to F2P (tomorrow). So any new accounts wouldn't get the same thing by subscribing for a month and then stopping. Just my interpretation, but I'm pretty sure I'm right. Wouldn't hurt to get this confirmed by a Dev though.

It was specifically said in this thread that the plan is for this to apply to future gold members as well.

[Archived Post]

i guess thay want beta testers for silver nothing more we have been beta testing f2p for a month now could have let us get va ships when we got to that level. but who cares as long as cryptic makes money

[Archived Post]

It's not an honest/dishonest type of situation. If you've ever purchased a service, locked in a price, only to find that a year later, new subscribers to that service get a discount for signing up. you know how it works. You don't get the same deal. When you sign up for LTS, you take that risk. Hell, when you sign for anything, you know it's going to be offered cheaper down the line. Buy a new car? It's worth half it's value once you drive it off the lot. You've had 30 seconds of use out of it, and now it's only worth half of it's original value! You're still making those same $300 payments for 48 months, though. It's a risk you take when you want something guaranteed. You wanted a guarantee of lifetime play, you paid anywhere from $199 to $300 for the privilege. That's how it works.

Now, that said, I do understand how you feel. You hope that loyalty means something, that being a loyal customer means the company (in this case Cryptic) considers your wants and desires first when they're coming up with new ways of gamplay, and new benefits for players. The problem is that's not what you paid for. It would be nice, yeah! But it's not what you signed on for when you paid. You got what you wanted: Lifetime gameplay. Anything else is a benefit.

[Archived Post]

Well yeah, the bonus points would have to be cross game (no idea why they aren't right now either to be honest) but yeah, for those that have a LTS for both, yah I could see there would still be a mismatch, but would it be an acceptable one for things to gel and get better?

I think that would alienate quite a bit of people who are already ****ed off that they bought the CO LTS to get the "Exclusive" Mirror Universe Costume for STO which was quickly made available on the C-Store, only to get that further devalued by having the people who haven't forked over that LTS money to get it free with thier STO sub as well...

No, I think the best corse of action here is for Cryptic to come up with new and better reasons to sub (which will automatically be available to lifers) which are only available/active when a Gold Member or some kind of token which can be accrued which is only given while a gold member. Here are some things that come to mind for me that I don't think would be disagreeable - would give reasons to be Gold without Gimping Silver or giving an 'unfair' advantage to Gold Members (in PvP or something).

A cooldown reduction for transwarp abilities (cut the cooldown in half or something while on Gold Status)
Free Tailor Tokens (Monthly - only accrued while Gold, but can be expended as a Silver member)
Increased DOFF Assignment Cap (be able to run 5 more Duty Officer Assignments at a time or something like that - when going from Gold to Silver, the overage will still complete, but can't start new ones above the 'Silver' Cap)


I think if this list was added to the Gold Benefits, it would help some.

Also, Cryptic could increase thier revenue by adding Advertisement Load Screens which are shown only to Silver Members (maybe silver members would HAVE to watch an advert while logging in). I say this because it would, in theory, help Cryptic afford to add more content for everyone! The Voice features already have adverts for Silver Members...

(NOTE - by adverts I mean things like adverts for other Perfect World / Cryptic Games and for Star Trek related things, not for general product placement.)

I also have one that goes back to Closed Beta, but would be a nice touch... once Fleet Admiral Ranks is avaialble remove the Skill Cap, but limit the ability to EARN Skill Points after reaching FA. Normally it would work like it does now - you earn BOFF SP instead of Captain SP at max level, but there would be special events where Fleet Admirals can earn Captain Skill Points, or if you used a "Double XP" pack, you would earn skill points at max rank as well (but at a normal rate). Gold members, however, would be able to ALWAYS earn Skill Points, albiet at a reduced rate outside of the special events or using the 'double xp' packs (in order to give a reason to join the events and purchase the packs).

[Archived Post]

It's not an honest/dishonest type of situation. If you've ever purchased a service, locked in a price, only to find that a year later, new subscribers to that service get a discount for signing up. you know how it works. You don't get the same deal.

I think what throws me off is, well...

You DO get the same deal in my experience.

Cell phone companies, banks, cable service providers, landlords... I've managed to get the promo as an existing customer every time. Even the government can be negotiated with on just about everything, even in the most rigid and bureaucratic sectors.

MMOs and a handful of Entertainment companies are the only place I've ever run into where they seem immune to bargaining,.

I've gotten half off on my rent, tons of things for free over the years, just by engaging people directly, forcefully, and compassionately.

MMOs... Enh. Not AS much, no.

[Archived Post]

It's not an honest/dishonest type of situation. If you've ever purchased a service, locked in a price, only to find that a year later, new subscribers to that service get a discount for signing up. you know how it works. You don't get the same deal. When you sign up for LTS, you take that risk. Hell, when you sign for anything, you know it's going to be offered cheaper down the line. Buy a new car? It's worth half it's value once you drive it off the lot. You've had 30 seconds of use out of it, and now it's only worth half of it's original value! You're still making those same $300 payments for 48 months, though. It's a risk you take when you want something guaranteed. You wanted a guarantee of lifetime play, you paid anywhere from $199 to $300 for the privilege. That's how it works.

Now, that said, I do understand how you feel. You hope that loyalty means something, that being a loyal customer means the company (in this case Cryptic) considers your wants and desires first when they're coming up with new ways of gamplay, and new benefits for players. The problem is that's not what you paid for. It would be nice, yeah! But it's not what you signed on for when you paid. You got what you wanted: Lifetime gameplay. Anything else is a benefit.

+1, pretty much covers it.

[Archived Post]

I think what throws me off is, well...

You DO get the same deal in my experience.

Cell phone companies, banks, cable service providers, landlords... I've managed to get the promo as an existing customer every time. Even the government can be negotiated with on just about everything, even in the most rigid and bureaucratic sectors.

MMOs and a handful of Entertainment companies are the only place I've ever run into where they seem immune to bargaining,.

I've gotten half off on my rent, tons of things for free over the years, just by engaging people directly, forcefully, and compassionately.

MMOs... Enh. Not AS much, no.

The difference - those things you have to KEEP paying and those companies want to KEEP your business. In the case of LTS you pay once and that is that. They have your money from the start and don't have to keep your business - they already have it, so it is like buying a car and paying it off completely, then going back three months later and demanding they give you that new hi-def stereo they are including with the car standard now. Doesn't work that way, but you can always buy a new stereo and have it installed in your car...

The thing here is they need a reason for monthly subscribers to continue to pay, and those things would be made available to lifetime subscribers automatically...

[Archived Post]

I think that would alienate quite a bit of people who are already ****ed off that they bought the CO LTS to get the "Exclusive" Mirror Universe Costume for STO which was quickly made available on the C-Store, only to get that further devalued by having the people who haven't forked over that LTS money to get it free with thier STO sub as well...

No, I think the best corse of action here is for Cryptic to come up with new and better reasons to sub (which will automatically be available to lifers) which are only available/active when a Gold Member or some kind of token which can be accrued which is only given while a gold member. Here are some things that come to mind for me that I don't think would be disagreeable - would give reasons to be Gold without Gimping Silver or giving an 'unfair' advantage to Gold Members (in PvP or something).

A cooldown reduction for transwarp abilities (cut the cooldown in half or something while on Gold Status)
Free Tailor Tokens (Monthly - only accrued while Gold, but can be expended as a Silver member)
Increased DOFF Assignment Cap (be able to run 5 more Duty Officer Assignments at a time or something like that - when going from Gold to Silver, the overage will still complete, but can't start new ones above the 'Silver' Cap)


I think if this list was added to the Gold Benefits, it would help some.

Also, Cryptic could increase thier revenue by adding Advertisement Load Screens which are shown only to Silver Members (maybe silver members would HAVE to watch an advert while logging in). I say this because it would, in theory, help Cryptic afford to add more content for everyone! The Voice features already have adverts for Silver Members...

(NOTE - by adverts I mean things like adverts for other Perfect World / Cryptic Games and for Star Trek related things, not for general product placement.)

I also have one that goes back to Closed Beta, but would be a nice touch... once Fleet Admiral Ranks is avaialble remove the Skill Cap, but limit the ability to EARN Skill Points after reaching FA. Normally it would work like it does now - you earn BOFF SP instead of Captain SP at max level, but there would be special events where Fleet Admirals can earn Captain Skill Points, or if you used a "Double XP" pack, you would earn skill points at max rank as well (but at a normal rate). Gold members, however, would be able to ALWAYS earn Skill Points, albiet at a reduced rate outside of the special events or using the 'double xp' packs (in order to give a reason to join the events and purchase the packs).
Well on that note, I think Cryptic DEFINITELY have to steer clear from a Perfect World influence in either game and just keep whatever they do to STO and Champs...

Remember, this is the Third parent company for cryptic, NC Soft being the first, then Atari and now PWE... if they had PWE adverts and links and then pulled out from them, well yeah, that would screw us over more, hence the idea of linking the LTS for both games

yes I know that will annoy those that have both games LTS, but really, the best of a bad situation is all we can hope for right now surely

[Archived Post]

The difference - those things you have to KEEP paying and those companies want to KEEP your business. In the case of LTS you pay once and that is that. They have your money from the start and don't have to keep your business - they already have it, so it is like buying a car and paying it off completely, then going back three months later and demanding they give you that new hi-def stereo they are including with the car standard now. Doesn't work that way, but you can always buy a new stereo and have it installed in your car...

The thing here is they need a reason for monthly subscribers to continue to pay, and those things would be made available to lifetime subscribers automatically...

Actually no they don't need a reason to have folks keep paying their sub. PWE doesn't run hybrid games, they have no problem is every gold sub quit and went F2P as a silver. This has been seen the moment the F2P matrix showed up. And once the EC limits we detailed and limits on the foundry were lifted it became even more evedent monthly subs don't matter to Cryptic.

Rewarding folks who sub for one month just shows cryptic would rather have tons of people pay a few bucks rather then a few people pay monthly subs.

And yeah it devalues the LTS folks but its not like they can rage quit the game.

[Archived Post]

This is the best news i've heard in a long time, that I won't loose anything when i go free to play. And if i can't login, well I'll just go do something else instead :)

[Archived Post]

My Friend can't log in...

he has an old account, it is Thursday the 5th over here.

STO tells him
account error.... "no active characters"


is this live yet or do we have an ETA when he can start downloading the 10GB patchwork the retail DVD needs?

//edit:

*looks at launcher*

oooh.... i guess AFTER the downtime ...eh?

[Archived Post]

My Friend can't log in...

he has an old account, it is Thursday the 5th over here.

STO tells him
account error.... "no active characters"


is this live yet or do we have an ETA when he can start downloading the 10GB patchwork the retail DVD needs?

//edit:

*looks at launcher*

oooh.... i guess AFTER the downtime ...eh?because the update hasn't started yet

theres about 4 hours to go and then wait times begin :D

[Archived Post]

yes when entering product key first time for cryptic
it took the log in accounts server three times to register it properly

[Archived Post]

I'd be happy if vet rewards got a buff and they made that the reason to sub,

About Gold members get a 10% damage and defense buff? That's be easy to take away if they downgraded to silver.

yeah thats the Defiant/tactical bridge
Ok, must just be the POV that makes it seem different.

theres about 4 hours to go and then wait times begin :D
As a Lifer, I want to see an animation of me bypassing a line of people and the bouncer removing the velvet rope for me to enter. :D

[Archived Post]

So it begins...

[Archived Post]

As a Lifer, I want to see an animation of me bypassing a line of people and the bouncer removing the velvet rope for me to enter. :D

you mean a little gif animation of you at transwarp passing F2P'ers who are going at thruster pace in a shuttle

[Archived Post]

Inventory slots by rank for gold players:

* Ensign - 42
* Lieutenant - 42
* Lt. Commander - 48
* Commander - 54
* Captain - 60
* Rear Adm., Lower - 66
* Rear Adm., Upper - 66
* Vice Adm. - 72

Bank slots by rank for gold players:

* Ensign - 48
* Lieutenant - 48
* Lt. Commander - 60
* Commander - 72
* Captain - 84
* Rear Adm., Lower - 96
* Rear Adm., Upper - 96
* Vice Adm. - 108

A silver player that has never been gold will have the ensign values (42 inventory, 48 bank). A silver player that was previously gold will have the number of slots for whatever rank they were at the time they converted from gold to silver.

Both gold and silver players can buy an additional 36 inventory slots and an additional 48 bank slots from the C-Store. The only way to get the maximum number of slots (108 inventory, 156 bank) is to buy all the slots available from the c-store, and have had at gold subscription while also being at VA rank. Pure silver players can't just buy more slots in the C-Store to make up for the slots they don't get by never having had a gold account.

So, just to be clear, if you EVER subbed prior to F2P - you'll retain whatever slots you got for the ranks you earned and keep them if you decide to go Silver.

What about NEW F2P players (who never played STO before the 'official F2P' launch on 1/17/12 ) who go gold for a month, get to VA1 and then go silver? Do they ALSO get to keep the slots they earned for ranking up during the time they were gold?

[Archived Post]

Uhm... while I get that this is a good thing for someone whose sub lapsed or who was only here for a little bit, how is this thanking lifers or those who have paid subscriptions for all this time? I'm just wondering if I'm missing something, which is entirely possible. :confused:

It's a nice gesture, though. I'll be interested in seeing how many people take up this offer.

I agree with this. I don't criticize STO for making the offer to those who's accounts have lapsed. However, don't say you're rewarding those who have been LOYAL. If they were loyal they would still have subscriptions (barring financial difficulty of course).

Again, no problem with the idea and I hope they have success, but don't spin it into something it isn't. We're not that stupid.

[Archived Post]

Thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you

Okay, there's an actual explanation for all that.

Halloween 2010, my step father had a stroke. It's not about that.

Since then, we've been in and out of hospitals, therapy sessions, doctor's offices, etc nonstop. It's not about that, either.

For over a year now, I've been unable to game properly due to the time constraints of taking care of him. It's not about that either.

No, wait. It was about that.

There's no way of using a console properly with so little time on my hands, and I can't get into a multi-player game for more than a few minutes without being interrupted. So aside from restricting myself to single-player material, so I'm not holding anyone up and can't afk out, I can't even play that for more than a half hour at a time most days. I know a lot of us see F2P as a sign a game has failed and is making a last grasp at making a profit. But this is my chance to get back into a proper MMO, just my luck it's the one based on a show I've watched for over 20 years, with spaceship combat I enjoyed.

So thanks, Cryptic. Not as though you did this for ME, but it's still cool. I promise to buy your duty officer packs and DS9 uniforms, as soon as I figure out what a duty officer is.

[Archived Post]

Okay, so I'm a lifer...and...all of my characters are gone. Even the launcher says I have no active characters, and there's no record of any of my C-store transactions. Everything I bought and paid for through the C-store is gone, and my consolation prize is a mere 900 Cryptic points?

Is this some kind of a joke? The F2P DEV blog said we weren't losing our characters or progression. What gives?

[Archived Post]

Okay, so I'm a lifer...and...all of my characters are gone. Even the launcher says I have no active characters, and there's no record of any of my C-store transactions. Everything I bought and paid for through the C-store is gone, and my consolation prize is a mere 900 Cryptic points?

Is this some kind of a joke? The F2P DEV blog said we weren't losing our characters or progression. What gives?

OUCH! I hope they get that sorted out for you. That would be the final nail in the coffin for me.

[Archived Post]

Don't worry. I left the game for a couple of months (waiting for the rest of Season 4, which became Season 5 after the F2P announcement) and when I came back, my characters didn't show up on the website. I freaked, like you. Then I actually logged in... and there they were, just as I left them. After which, they appeared on the site again.

That said... I have to admit that, after I finish leveling my current alt, I'll likely be letting my sub lapse again. I have all the characters I want, and now it seems I'll be losing even less than I previously thought if I go to Silver. It seems apparent that Cryptic and/or PWE expect to make most of their money from C-store purchases (including points bought to convert to dilithium) and short-term subscriptions.

[Archived Post]

Don't worry. I left the game for a couple of months (waiting for the rest of Season 4, which became Season 5 after the F2P announcement) and when I came back, my characters didn't show up on the website. I freaked, like you. Then I actually logged in... and there they were, just as I left them. After which, they appeared on the site again.

That said... I have to admit that, after I finish leveling my current alt, I'll likely be letting my sub lapse again. I have all the characters I want, and now it seems I'll be losing even less than I previously thought if I go to Silver. It seems apparent that Cryptic and/or PWE expect to make most of their money from C-store purchases (including points bought to convert to dilithium) and short-term subscriptions.

That's just it: I logged in and had NO characters. I put in a ticket, but I'm not getting my hopes up.

[Archived Post]

That's just it: I logged in and had NO characters. I put in a ticket, but I'm not getting my hopes up.

If you've been away a long time supposedly they get backed up. If you've logged in and they were gone then log out (of everything just to be sure, game and website) wait a few minutes and log back in. They might be restored. Apparently this has worked for other people in the past.

[Archived Post]

I've been out for well over a year, and I hopped back in today with no hitches. Just lucky maybe?

[Archived Post]

hm neat, just starting the patching process, looking forward to getting back into the game and seeing the changes

[Archived Post]

If you've been away a long time supposedly they get backed up. If you've logged in and they were gone then log out (of everything just to be sure, game and website) wait a few minutes and log back in. They might be restored. Apparently this has worked for other people in the past.

Here's hoping. Thanks for the pointers, folks. :) It would really suck if this is the thanks I get for two back to back deployments.

[Archived Post]

Hello, anyone knows if "early acess" is available for those who had an trial acc before ?

[Archived Post]

So I'm back in game, and I gotta ask: What did Cryptic screw up to make my rig suddenly dislike STO? I'm getting half the FPS I was before (even with the beta DX11 settings), and all of my characters's faces have this "swamp thing" deal going on (black, inky spots all over). This is the only game that appears to have diminished performance; SWTOR runs at a steady 60FPS and I run Battlefield 3 maxed with no issues on either game.

Is anyone else having these problems? I'd like to get my performance back that I had prior to F2P.

[Archived Post]

So I'm back in game, and I gotta ask: What did Cryptic screw up to make my rig suddenly dislike STO? I'm getting half the FPS I was before (even with the beta DX11 settings), and all of my characters's faces have this "swamp thing" deal going on (black, inky spots all over). This is the only game that appears to have diminished performance; SWTOR runs at a steady 60FPS and I run Battlefield 3 maxed with no issues on either game.

Is anyone else having these problems? I'd like to get my performance back that I had prior to F2P.

switch back to DX9

the DX11 feauture is BETA and was put on Holodeck TODAY

the black stuff in your face is bacause of DX11 and is listed under known issues as "blocky shadows".

DX9 works like it always did.

[Archived Post]

Is the referral program still active? I can still send out referral emails and keys, but do those I refer and I still get the bonuses?

[Archived Post]

That's just it: I logged in and had NO characters. I put in a ticket, but I'm not getting my hopes up.

Make sure you are filing the ticket with http://support.crypticstudios.com/startrekonline

[Archived Post]

Hello, anyone knows if "early acess" is available for those who had an trial acc before ?

I had been hoping that was also the case. I was able to do the patch (it would let me before). But I try to login, and it says I have to wait until January 17 because I don't have a subscription.

Oh well, at least I have it up to date (after a 9 hour patch)

[Archived Post]

yeah rehpic posted earlier said trial accounts did not qualify. You had have had the retail game or paid 1 month sub previously to qualify.

[Archived Post]

thx for the early start, now i can coop with my wife again :)

ive a question concerning the upcoming f2p-start, do you have something new about german/french localization? it would be the perfect moment to regain lot of people who arent able to understand english.... i saw that something happend, departments and specs of the do-system are allready translated,...

lot of our users asking and building their hope on you and the f2p-start!

[Archived Post]

I played STO for a few months when it was first launched, but when i log in it says i have to wait till 17th. My account shows that i was in beta, that i preoredered the game, and i know i played STO for a few months. What am i doing wrong?

[Archived Post]

I played STO for a few months when it was first launched, but when i log in it says i have to wait till 17th. My account shows that i was in beta, that i preoredered the game, and i know i played STO for a few months. What am i doing wrong?

I would file a ticket with cryptic support?

[Archived Post]

Sweet... thanks a lot! :)

[Archived Post]

I logged and all my 13 BOffs are there, with an empty slot waiting for the Holo officer. So no, returning players aren't really a test for the conversion system.

[Archived Post]

I logged and all my 13 BOffs are there, with an empty slot waiting for the Holo officer. So no, returning players aren't really a test for the conversion system.

There is no conversion. People keep whatever they get.

If a new player subs Gold for one month, any characters they create get the extra BOff slots, inventory slots, etc. and don't lose them if they go silver.

[Archived Post]

patching now:eek:, and just wanna say this isn't going unappreciated:)

[Archived Post]

Rather ironic that there are so many pleased and happy people now; and I'm not one of them. I guess I'll try to find some reason to improve my feelings!:p

[Archived Post]

Then what if that person subs for a month, and then lets the sub lapse? Does he lose those slot again? If not, this creates a very large exploit. Get all the gold perks by subbing for 1 month, and then cancelling and keeping all those slots.

Your notion of an exploit is shortsighted from a business standpoint.

A certain number of casual players will realise that a gold subscription is more efficient than buying all the "perks" individually. A certain number will not, and will spend more points gradually.
$15 spread over 30 days is nothing compared to $25 of points in one day for buying ships and costumes. Never forget the goal from now on is selling more points.
A certain number of people that subscribe for 1 month will forget to cancel, and be billed for 2 or 3 months.
A certain number will decide they like the gold perks and keep it, or quickly convert to lifetime.
Getting $15 is better than getting nothing for someone that quits the game because they found Silver too limiting.
It's better to let your customers feel clever about how they spent their money, so they will spend more money.


And for cases where none of the above Profit comes true, in business you sometimes take the hit. But I don't think that will be a problem in the next 12 months. ;) How many hundreds of people bought how many thousands of gift boxes? Perfect World knows what they're doing. Don't doubt it for a second.

[Archived Post]

I am getting a weird error when I try to log into STO I got the email about my account being reactivated so I downloaded the client and installed it yesterday. I submitted an error ticket for it ticket id 12441392

system specs if it helps.

AMD Phenom II X6 1090T running at stock cpu speed
MSI DKA790GX
8GB DDR2 Ram
120GB OCZ Vertex III SSD for the OS
1 TB Western Digital Black Sata HD for Data and Game storage
Pioneer DVD +/- RW
Sapphire Radeon 6950 2GB video card
Sound Blaster X-Fi sound card
Windows 7 Ultimate X64 SP1

[Archived Post]

Hi i played Sto after release 3 months. And it was the long time on my hd.
Now i get an update with +3GB and a small patch with 216MB.
Q:
Is it now just like in WoT that u can play for free or buy a Premium Account?
Q:
Have i lost somthing thrue the change?

Thx for answer!

[Archived Post]

Hi i played Sto after release 3 months. And it was the long time on my hd.
Now i get an update with +3GB and a small patch with 216MB.
Q:
Is it now just like in WoT that u can play for free or buy a Premium Account?
Q:
Have i lost somthing thrue the change?

Thx for answer!

If you previously played for at least 1 month, I believe you can now play for free as a Silver player.

Anything you previously had in game you will stay have when you log in, you loose nothing.

[Archived Post]

Your notion of an exploit is shortsighted from a business standpoint.

A certain number of casual players will realise that a gold subscription is more efficient than buying all the "perks" individually. A certain number will not, and will spend more points gradually.
$15 spread over 30 days is nothing compared to $25 of points in one day for buying ships and costumes. Never forget the goal from now on is selling more points.
A certain number of people that subscribe for 1 month will forget to cancel, and be billed for 2 or 3 months.
A certain number will decide they like the gold perks and keep it, or quickly convert to lifetime.
Getting $15 is better than getting nothing for someone that quits the game because they found Silver too limiting.
It's better to let your customers feel clever about how they spent their money, so they will spend more money.


And for cases where none of the above Profit comes true, in business you sometimes take the hit. But I don't think that will be a problem in the next 12 months. ;) How many hundreds of people bought how many thousands of gift boxes? Perfect World knows what they're doing. Don't doubt it for a second.

I just wanna say I rather wish there were more people like you on the forums. Someone who understands the numbers behind conversion rates, marketing, and price setting, particularly in the entertainment services industry.

[Archived Post]

Could someone, anyone please explain why we once again have as many limits to our skill's as we did at the start of STO.....100,000 points max in ground skills is about as nerfed for me as you can nerf me.
I understand the objective you wish to acheive but the way you keep going about it is finally becoming upseting. Think about it from my point of veiw, any STF ground combat on elite requires more than 100,000 skill points to not die 50 times in elite combat (why have limits anyway). When a standard Tac drone can kill you in less than 2 seconds you place more limits on us so we will have to die many more times than before (are you feeling a little sadistic maybe) :confused:
I would like to suggest for once in STO's history you consider not making us choose the way you always have in the past, let us actualy decide how many points we want to put where and I bet we will build some pretty good alts/toons. But as seems to be in the Cryptic style of Game Play, you have decided to limit us yet again, you said the new skills were to correct that and the first change did pretty much do as you said, then you went and found new limits for us to deal with (ground skills)
I would really like, just once in a single season to find i have not been limited and nerfed as this is far from all of what Star Trek seemed to be about for me. If you're gonna force me to go into constant combat (something Star trek seldom seemed to do on any of the Shows in a Very long history) then please lose the limitations you keep placing on us :(
There's not alot of us (players) that spec out for ground combat, i happen to be one of those that almost only ever spec out for ground. In every other skill tree, i had more contol over my alt's abilities than i do in this set up. For most, this might not be an issue or upsetting, but for me it is quite upsetting. I prefer specing for ground as I am in constant demand for ground STFs and other such missions.
Please, PLEASE allow me to spec out the alt/toon i am playing the way i want.
I believe about 85% of all STO players are space speced leaving so few of us to really do the Ground Missions you seem to be making more and more of (the FEs being a great example) :rolleyes:
Most of the FEs you create have alot of ground combat, som what would I be led to believe when I hear that you are going to fix the skill tree so we can do better on the ground parts, Limitations would not be part of it. :mad: Please, give us all a free respec token and get rid of these limitations, please, fpr once let Us play as we would if we were truely the Alt/Toon we have created.
@Cristonic

[Archived Post]

Ive played this game before but since today i cant login. it says that i need to wait till 17 jan.:mad:

i thought that previous players would get a silver account before 17 jan.

[Archived Post]

Could someone, anyone please explain why we once again have as many limits to our skill's as we did at the start of STO.....100,000 points max in ground skills is about as nerfed for me as you can nerf me.
I understand the objective you wish to acheive but the way you keep going about it is finally becoming upseting. Think about it from my point of veiw, any STF ground combat on elite requires more than 100,000 skill points to not die 50 times in elite combat (why have limits anyway). When a standard Tac drone can kill you in less than 2 seconds you place more limits on us so we will have to die many more times than before (are you feeling a little sadistic maybe) :confused:
I would like to suggest for once in STO's history you consider not making us choose the way you always have in the past, let us actualy decide how many points we want to put where and I bet we will build some pretty good alts/toons. But as seems to be in the Cryptic style of Game Play, you have decided to limit us yet again, you said the new skills were to correct that and the first change did pretty much do as you said, then you went and found new limits for us to deal with (ground skills)
I would really like, just once in a single season to find i have not been limited and nerfed as this is far from all of what Star Trek seemed to be about for me. If you're gonna force me to go into constant combat (something Star trek seldom seemed to do on any of the Shows in a Very long history) then please lose the limitations you keep placing on us :(
There's not alot of us (players) that spec out for ground combat, i happen to be one of those that almost only ever spec out for ground. In every other skill tree, i had more contol over my alt's abilities than i do in this set up. For most, this might not be an issue or upsetting, but for me it is quite upsetting. I prefer specing for ground as I am in constant demand for ground STFs and other such missions.
Please, PLEASE allow me to spec out the alt/toon i am playing the way i want.
I believe about 85% of all STO players are space speced leaving so few of us to really do the Ground Missions you seem to be making more and more of (the FEs being a great example) :rolleyes:
Most of the FEs you create have alot of ground combat, som what would I be led to believe when I hear that you are going to fix the skill tree so we can do better on the ground parts, Limitations would not be part of it. :mad: Please, give us all a free respec token and get rid of these limitations, please, fpr once let Us play as we would if we were truely the Alt/Toon we have created.
@Cristonic


This is interesting because most people complained about the previous 275000/92000 split gimping space too much. Now the spread is 300000/100000 which should have satisfied everybody. I found if you dump into 100000 into ground you will end up gimping space way too much. The objective here is to prevent forcing people from making space-only and ground-only alts. IMO they should re-unify the elite STFs to force you to run both portions with the same toon, giving advantage to the most balanced character.

[Archived Post]

Ive played this game before but since today i cant login. it says that i need to wait till 17 jan.:mad:

i thought that previous players would get a silver account before 17 jan.

DId you ever pay for a subscription or buy the game with the 30 days on it? Try submitting a ticket to support.crypticstudios.com

[Archived Post]

DId you ever pay for a subscription or buy the game with the 30 days on it? Try submitting a ticket to support.crypticstudios.com

it was a friend reveral

[Archived Post]

it was a friend reveral

Ah - well, unless you bought the game after the referal period was up; and entered a retail key; then no, you won't get in until the 17th. The referal program allowed you to play fopr free as a trial account; and I nblieve they've stated trial accounts that never converted to retail account aren't eligable for the 'Early F2P Access'. :(

If you DID buy a box/download and did enter a retail key (and not just the nreferal key) at ome point and it's showing on your accopunt info; open a CS Ticket and see if they can fix it.

[Archived Post]

How is it all going for the FTP ?

I am just asking for STG.

Thanks.

[Archived Post]

Ah - well, unless you bought the game after the referal period was up; and entered a retail key; then no, you won't get in until the 17th. The referal program allowed you to play fopr free as a trial account; and I nblieve they've stated trial accounts that never converted to retail account aren't eligable for the 'Early F2P Access'. :(

If you DID buy a box/download and did enter a retail key (and not just the nreferal key) at ome point and it's showing on your accopunt info; open a CS Ticket and see if they can fix it.

Will i keep all my previous account stuff? ship/rank etc

[Archived Post]

This is interesting because most people complained about the previous 275000/92000 split gimping space too much. Now the spread is 300000/100000 which should have satisfied everybody. I found if you dump into 100000 into ground you will end up gimping space way too much. The objective here is to prevent forcing people from making space-only and ground-only alts. IMO they should re-unify the elite STFs to force you to run both portions with the same toon, giving advantage to the most balanced character.

I understand the ground/space split, but understand i did far better on the ground than i do after this new skill sustem went live. I put very few skill points into space combat (everyone else has that part covered).
I spec out for groung combat, and the damage i do now is far less, even though i have maxed out the ground section in several different ways as i have more than a Few alts. Now to directly ask you a question.....why have a limit to the way I want MY ALT to be skilled ?? Do You alway obey all speed limits ??? Limits are just what the name implies, a limit to what someone else wants, look it up.
And as far as STFs go, I hate the new ones, yet one more Limit (see above) Cryptic has placed upon us, no choice but to either fall in line and submit or give up STFs all-together, I chose the last one.
Sorry, but to please everyone Cryptic is going to need to stop with every new idea that limits the players on here and let us design, skill and train our Alt's/toon's as we feel best for the way we play.:rolleyes:

[Archived Post]

I understand the ground/space split, but understand i did far better on the ground than i do after this new skill sustem went live. I put very few skill points into space combat (everyone else has that part covered).
I spec out for groung combat, and the damage i do now is far less, even though i have maxed out the ground section in several different ways as i have more than a Few alts. Now to directly ask you a question.....why have a limit to the way I want MY ALT to be skilled ?? Do You alway obey all speed limits ??? Limits are just what the name implies, a limit to what someone else wants, look it up.
And as far as STFs go, I hate the new ones, yet one more Limit (see above) Cryptic has placed upon us, no choice but to either fall in line and submit or give up STFs all-together, I chose the last one.
Sorry, but to please everyone Cryptic is going to need to stop with every new idea that limits the players on here and let us design, skill and train our Alt's/toon's as we feel best for the way we play.:rolleyes:

How did you manage to run STFs with a ground-spec build in the first place?

[Archived Post]

How is it all going for the FTP ?

I am just asking for STG.

Thanks.

Waiting is the hardest part

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Fleet_Command

That was our fleet bar as long time Trekkers My Fleet board once had 250 members
actually we still have 2 boards but nobody comes along any more. Various reasons

most of our troubles here were balance play options for the Klingon faction to add to the very nice episodes they can make here.

17 JAn FTP should be a good day..to Trek

[Archived Post]

switch back to DX9

the DX11 feauture is BETA and was put on Holodeck TODAY

the black stuff in your face is bacause of DX11 and is listed under known issues as "blocky shadows".

DX9 works like it always did.

Believe it or not, this did not fix it for me. Toggling the FPS stabilizer settings did. I don't know why it did, but it did.

[Archived Post]

Hi, I've been a gold member for a long time, and I had to stop since I was having money issues, now I'm back as a silver for now and don't have tribble access, this is a bug, as I saw on this thread that early silvers should have access to tribble, when it will be fixed? And does anyone are having the same issue?
Thanks.