My personal opinion on the matter.

• Add the % chances to the C-store when purchasing the keys (This removes any risk of it been illegal, which it very closely is in some US states and some countries)
• Allow Gold members a way of obtaining keys, perhaps from the Captains table, with a timer on how many you can get.
• Remove the system chat spam for gold subscribers

Personlly, I'm really not keen on lockboxes, they just don't feel 'Trek' to me. I'd rather have items in the C-store where you know 'exactly' what you are purchasing, instead of what you may have a chance of getting. But this to me is because it just feels so anti-Trek to me to have a mechanic like this in the C-store.

Like Askray, these are my opinions, they certainly arn't representative of Cryptic or PWE, and like Askray, my current employment is my own buisness in content of my volunteer duties on these forums ;-)

I just wish I could post a facepalm pic here. Because it really needs it.

I could reflect the same question back in return: What makes yours any more credible than mine OR his? At least some posters who have argued with you offer proof to back up their statements, which you have summarily dismissed out of hand because, well, they disagree with you.

FYI: In case you're insinuating that Askray and myself are the same person, or that I'm one of his sock puppets, I assure you that I am not.

Trying to sound intelligent and spouting non sequitir arguments about herd mentality, and calling that your counter-argument is all the more ridiculous.

Constantly demanding "who are you to tell ME that" makes you sound completely arrogant. So does demanding everyone else's credibility when you offer nothing that makes your own any more or less credible.

I'm a forum poster here with the right to post in defense of whomever I choose to, in the framework of the rules set down by PWE Community Guidelines. That's what it is to me.

Suricata, how dare you come into this thread and troll us with your reasonableness!?

believe me, I understand you're a volunteer and not paid by Cryptic. But I am happy you're willing to post as a moderator and give an honest opinion. I mostly agree with it. I'd be happy to see the Galor in the cstore. If it needed to be rare, make it a $100 ship. Not many people would buy it at that price. But it would take the stink of the lockboxes needing money to open out of the picture. The lockboxes have nothing to do with Star Trek, I totally agree with that. The spam isn't conducive to fun in the game either, which I think you agree with.

The odds would make things more like a lotto game like every other company has to do. But I'm still concerned with the game having a Teen rating and enticing minors to spend money on games of chance. I wouldn't like it even if the game were rated M and had a disclaimer stating the presence of games of chance within, but it would largely alleviate my concerns about minors who don't have proper impulse control wired into their brains yet, but are told by the ESRB it's a safe game for them to play. The game has made a fundamental change since that rating was given and I believe no longer applies.

Thanks for your response though. It's better than any of the actual devs have done. So far all we've gotten is Brandon saying he's going to pass along our feelings and some folks insulting us on Twitter.

In all honesty, a lot of games aren't properly rated. Like I said in a previous thread, the ESRB rating is a joke that gets largely ignored by parents who don't care what their kids are playing.

Even informing some people of what they're getting into doesn't mean they're going to make an informed decision. This is coming from someone who had to sell video games for a living and get stared at by parents when you remind them what the game they're buying for their kids is rated. Many just don't care or don't really care to know what they're letting their kids play.

What you say is true. But it would be a start. STO no longer deserves a Teen rating, therefore it should no longer have one.

Too bad we're on opposite sides of this one. I too am a huge Wheel of Time fan. I was part of the newsgroup from way back when. I am currently following Leigh Butler on the TOR website as she does a complete re-read of the series. She's in the middle of Gathering Storm now.

Call me puerile, but maybe with an M rating, we could get some proper open jackets and beach wear. Champions is also constantly hamstrung in their costume options.

I'm for that, would love to put my sexy-sexy man toons in some shorts and visit Risa..

Well.. Maybe not my Gorn.. Not much to see there I can't already.. Plus, you know, it's a Lizard thing..

Maybe we do want an M rating. I plan to contact the ESRB myself, maybe if a hundred of us did it, we can get that M rating, and feel better about the new direction STO is taking.

At any rate, I think the minors being involved in this type of gaming is the biggest reason for both changing the rating and for Congress to investigate this new phenomenon in US video games. I still hope for the grab bags to be legislated out of existence.

Even if they do have a gambling licence the game is now free to play so surely anyone can access the game making any gamling licence null and void. In order to hold a licence it is required to ensure only those of legal age can access the site. This is obviously not the case.