This is not what people want.

The role of an entertainment company is not necessarily to give people what they want but to give them part of what they want, to give them what they dread, to shape and change what people want.

So far, Cryptic hasn't really made that last mark yet.

Romulans being split into Federation and Klingon factions is absolutely, decidedly NOT what people want. If Dan is serious about this and not just musing out loud or trolling the community, it becomes the responsibility of Cryptic to change what people want. That will require some heavy lore. That will require epic propaganda and epic action. That will require some real mojo.

If he's leaning that way, he'd better be prepared to lean hard and heavy, to get thick skin, and to set out for a storytelling miracle.

If he's going that route, he has my admiration whether he succeeds or not.

But one does not simply walk into Mordor. And this kind of thing can't look like, "Eh. We didn't have the budget to do it right." It has to look like, "This is the FUTURE. The work of the blood of martyrs and saints, the dream and the hope or not only Spock but a vision which has come to burn in the minds and hearts of Sela, Donatra, Tomalak and every true Romulan. This is where things BELONG. The only and greatest destiny of the Rihannsu is at the Federation's side and the Reman's only prayer is inside the KDF. It is the culimination, the realization, the only way things could be."

That will never sway everyone but I think he should be prepared to make that case and make it loudly... or give people what they're asking for and stop trolling the community. Either option is viable but I see little middle ground.

I'd caution everyone that without details, there is a lot of assumption going on. Details about what the Romulan faction will be when they are released is in the very TBD side of the design document. I realize that my comments strike fear in some that the Romulans will be just a Fed or KDF species - but seriously - you have to give me a little credit that I'm NOT trying to replicate the KDF incident. Those suggesting that I'm trying to shoe-horn in Romulan ships by adding them to the FED/KDF are purely speculating.

If the Romulan faction joins the game - you will start in your own area - and have your own storyline, etc...

My comment was more along the lines that at this point (and it will be better illustrated in the feature episode series Cloaked Intentions) there is is no central Romulan government and many survivers are forming their own alliances.

It could very well be that some Romulans might be sympathetic (con neutral) to Feds while some could be sympathetic (con neutral) to KDF. Perhaps not ALL Romulans will have the same agenda.

Is the ship half cloaked, or half visible? Such musings aside, Romulans stand for themselves, so will strongly suggest some other assimilation hungry species with any tolerance to spare, to be rolled out in this manner.

There is also the matter of the holy trinity, just to throw in the religious card.

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So you're suggesting there may not be just one playable Romulan faction... but two.

That may be a better way to market that than what you said.

I'm suggesting that the Romulan Faction may have to at some point decide who they want to side with if they want to survive, much like they had to do in the dominion war. Maybe not all Romulans will make the same decision. Who's running the show anyway? Sela? Obisek? Hakeev? I bet you ask 10 romulans and you'd get a different answer each time.

And I haven't even started to talk about the Hirogen... who's controlling them?

I noticed in the "Ask Cryptic" you mentioned plans to make it possible to start a brand new KDF character from the start screen rather than having to unlock them by playing Fed first. As long as you get to do the same thing with the Rom faction when it is added and dont have to pick Fed or Klingon to play them, then I'm content to wait and see how it turns out. But I cant support any plans that involve you having to start a Fed or Klingon character to play as part of the Rom faction.

The storyline should have to be approved to some degree some whatever alliances the roms make should be cannonish. Just like how dan posted he couldnt put romulus in the game since its blown up in the stories.....

i think he might be suggesting that while there is 'one' romulan faction... that there will be 'two' romulan plot lines and your romulan character would either have to decide which way to go or try a little of both.

IMO, before a new faction can even be added to STO, the Klingon Faction needs to be finished and all the tech, damage types, and skills need to be revisited. The Factions need faction specific tech, damage types, and skills. I'm not saying there cannot be some overlap but the current "everyone can use everything" has to go. Yes I know they did this for balance to get the game out the door, but now that the game is out the door, it needs to be fixed.