User:MatthewM/Stahl14Jun2012

Executive Producer Dan Stahl joined REDALERT channel to answer some questions on June 14, 2012. All times given in Central US. Only Stahl's answers are posted below.

(5:09:50 PM) dstahl: Season 6 will be posted to TRIBBLE over the next 3 weeks... release to HOLODECK IN JULY (5:10:35 PM) dstahl: The PvP Maps Gozer has been working on are waiting on some software that won't be ready until Season 6 ships - once we get that - then we can start putting the new PvP test maps on TRIBBLE (5:11:47 PM) dstahl: RE: KDF version of Armitage - that is a possibility - there are quite a few ships coming with the Starbase progression - so if you don't see something you like when S6 hits, then we can consider it... (5:12:22 PM) dstahl: RE: Accolade UI - there has been some discussions and white board mock ups, but nothing more concrete than that yet. (5:13:00 PM) dstahl: RE: new Science ships - there is one specific Science ship we've been talking about forever that has finally been approved and will be coming this year (not allowed to say which one yet) (5:13:30 PM) dstahl: RE: STF Currency simplification - that is a feature on the docket for Season 7 (5:14:24 PM) dstahl: RE: Sovereign class bridge - we don't have it on the schedule yet, but there is rumor of a sov variant coming soon (5:15:11 PM) dstahl: re: Account linking - there is an account linking promo in the works so you'll get another chance to link accounts soon. (5:15:31 PM) dstahl: RE: Foundry Token Store - great idea - something I'll share with the leads (5:15:45 PM) dstahl: re: First Contact Space Suits - yes they are coming (5:16:45 PM) dstahl: RE: Starbase Interior layouts - while they will not be customizable at launch, there will be exclusive projects that are time-sensitive which will unlock new cool decorations (5:17:16 PM) dstahl: RE: Silver access to emotes - we are reviewing emotes soon and trying to get that all squared away (5:18:27 PM) dstahl: RE: BOFFS more relevant at end game - yes. this is a big feature reserved for the rank of Fleet Admiral - we want to see Away Teams in space - where BOFFS command ships that help you (5:19:08 PM) dstahl: RE: Voyager ship pack - it is on our list of "ship packs" and I believe is near the top (5:19:42 PM) dstahl: RE: New VO - there is some new VO in Season 6, and we will continue to include it whenever our budgets allow. (5:20:20 PM) dstahl: RE: D'deridex in a lockbox: That ship will be part of any future plan for a playable Romulan species and not a lockbox (5:21:04 PM) dstahl: RE: Death Animation in Space - We have toyed around with the idea (disabled ship). It is something we can consider for the future. (5:21:26 PM) dstahl: re: Customizable Ground Kits - this is high on Al's list of features but is not on the schedule right now (5:21:54 PM) dstahl: re: New species - yes you can expect several new species every year. (5:22:42 PM) dstahl: re: more biography space - we have a special web team working on a complete revamp of the offline character profile which may include more bio space and lots more features (5:23:23 PM) dstahl: re: more bank slots - we will be offering more shared bank slots in Season 6 along with Bind on Account changes to some items (5:23:56 PM) dstahl: re: New STFs - nearly all the new queued missions in Season 6 are meant to be challenging group combat for 5 to 20 players. (5:25:07 PM) dstahl: re: bugs: there are still lots of bugs here and there and I don't have status on each one - we do have QA going through all old bugs to clean out the system and regress issues to determine priority (5:25:55 PM) dstahl: re: Featured Episodes in the Future: We are going to be focusing on Story content for Season 7 (releasing laster this year) (5:26:43 PM) dstahl: re: Cat hair styles - not currently on the schedule - it is up to Matt if he can get to this outside of everythign else we are working on (5:27:39 PM) dstahl: RE: Foundry - Season 6 is going to be a great boost for the Foundry. Small nice to have features and a new codebase designed to get us to room-by-room interiors in the future. (5:27:59 PM) dstahl: RE: Foundry Spotlight - is going to be getting more formal support after Season 6 releases (5:28:13 PM) dstahl: re: Vesta - maybe ;) (5:28:46 PM) dstahl: re: more reusable combat pets - there are new operational assets with Fleet Starbases that will add more variety (5:29:19 PM) dstahl: re: Into the Hive: Gozer definitely has plans and is waiting for schedule approval (5:29:51 PM) dstahl: re: Crew uniform - this was something we were hoping to get into S6, but it is still not happening yet. (5:30:32 PM) dstahl: re: Accessibility options for Captains - brilliant idea! bummer we don't have anything like that yet... (5:30:59 PM) dstahl: RE: More small craft - we are waiting for a new feature to set default small craft - once in - more small craft inbound (5:31:25 PM) dstahl: re: Specialized inventory - inventory could use an overhaul - nothing on the schedule currently but its a good idea (5:32:02 PM) dstahl: re: More Decor points - we are reserving this for when we get Foundry room-by-room editing. It has teh features you're talking about (5:32:27 PM) dstahl: re: Re-Trait Tokens - Another feature on Al's to do list - but no date when it is happening yet (5:33:26 PM) dstahl: re: Fleet Admiral Rank - we are looking at the skillpoint cap right now and working on our timetable for rank increases. Look for news on this in the near future. (5:34:17 PM) dstahl: RE: Crafting update - it is schedule to be somewhere between S7 and S8 -- probably around Feb is my guess (all dates subject to change of course) (5:35:50 PM) dstahl: re: S7 story - it is going to focus on one of the 3 main stories in STO as well as a specific enemy group (5:36:10 PM) dstahl: re: M12 gear tokens - Fleet Advancement will help with this (5:36:26 PM) dstahl: RE: S6 on Tribble = over the next 3 weeks (5:36:54 PM) dstahl: RE: NPC FLeet Uniforms in Starbases - unfortunately we don't have that tech (yet) (5:37:20 PM) dstahl: re: more music - we have been pursuing more music for some time and you may hear some new tunes in S6 (5:38:10 PM) dstahl: re: unbind tokens - we are not planning this - but we are planning to evaluate if some items should be account bound instead (5:38:36 PM) dstahl: re: saying things for sure - I do say things for sure - when it is not definite I don't speculate - I say maybe (5:39:40 PM) dstahl: re: KDF Content - we are focused on all faction end game content for the forseable future - no plans to do KDF levels 1 -18 at the moment (5:40:25 PM) dstahl: re: Lock box break - we will continue to offer lock boxes, but as you've noticed we are trying new and various ways to implement them. Look for more changes in S6 including the Lobi store (5:41:37 PM) dstahl: RE: New KDF Uniforms - yes a new fleet uniform (which is awesome) is coming in S6 (5:42:28 PM) dstahl: re: increasing team size in Foundry missions - that is a very great suggestion that I'm going to pass on to the devs. (5:43:08 PM) dstahl: re: new ship designs - yes new ship designs are planned - we have a few refits and retrofits to get out as well (5:43:36 PM) dstahl: re: new Foundry interiors - yes, we have an artist tagging as many as they can to get ready for S6 release (5:44:14 PM) dstahl: RE: More captain skills - these new skills will be tied to additional ranks and/or personal advancement system (5:44:36 PM) dstahl: re: Porthos - I've heard rumor one of the animators is working on this in their spare time - we'll see if it really happens (5:45:40 PM) dstahl: re: PVP - we have a dedicated specialist revamping PVP to allow cross faction matches and any level bolstering. We are starting with a space arena revampt and going from there - post S6 (5:46:39 PM) dstahl: re: Ship Interior Holodecks - we want to see these in Quarks, Starbases, and Ship interiors - no timeframe yet (5:47:15 PM) dstahl: re: STF timer - we are evaluating. Many of the new queue missions in S6 use variants of this - we will collect feedback and adjust post S6 (5:47:46 PM) dstahl: re: Hair and Hair Fixes - no eta - this is on the Character Art lead to resolve, but no firm plan yet (5:48:20 PM) dstahl: re: Fleet Starbase Shipyard functionality - you will be able to buy new ship varients, but not customize further than you already can. (5:48:44 PM) dstahl: RE: Time gated content - yes there will be less in the future - we are making a big change to this in S6 (5:49:25 PM) dstahl: RE: minigames - these require bored software engineers to get made - right now we have them too busy with bugs and features (5:49:53 PM) dstahl: RE: Voyager and TNG bundles - those are both planned - no eta (5:50:12 PM) dstahl: re: STO in China - it is being evaluated, but no decision yet (5:51:11 PM) dstahl: re: Demo Record - it is a poorly supported feature that people like yourself turn into awesomeness. The dev who owns it is too busy elsewhere to make fixes. What u need is cutsceens in Foundry (5:51:53 PM) dstahl: Re: PvP in China - we have Gozer working on PVP because we want PVP to be better and it can be. (5:52:16 PM) dstahl: re: visiting the gamma quadrant - someday, but there are several sectors in line before it (5:52:43 PM) dstahl: re: new chat system - not in the works yet - but I've heard rumor of Chat coming to Foundry (5:53:37 PM) dstahl: re: holstered weapons while at rest - this has been tested internally - we want to do it and are testing systems to make it happen (5:54:09 PM) dstahl: re: 1 universal station - this is the planned functionality of your #1 when you obtain future ranks (5:54:48 PM) dstahl: re: DX11 mesh errors - we have recently hired a new engineer to help coordinate the video devs and address issues like this. (5:56:02 PM) dstahl: re: Top 3 Systems, Top 3 Stories: Crafting, Traits, PvP, Foundry, Advancement - Iconians, Remans, Sela, War, Unification (5:56:35 PM) dstahl: re: Flight simulator controls (aka true 3D) - never (5:57:20 PM) dstahl: re: "real" FPS on ground - not possible in this engine - what we have now is the closest we were able to get (5:57:38 PM) dstahl: re: Future Ranks - Fleet Admiral and/or other specializations (5:58:34 PM) dstahl: re: Playable Risans/Deltans - currently we have not plans for "official" species, but it is not difficult to do and could be a nice to have for a future update (5:59:10 PM) dstahl: re: Next Ship - is a special ship appearing in the next doff pack - Reinforcements Duty Officer Pack (5:59:48 PM) dstahl: RE: Account Shared Currencies - We are evaluating those currencies for use with Account Shared Bank now, and you'll see this change when Season 6 goes live in July (6:00:37 PM) dstahl: RE: Tholians - I just saw the latest models - they look absolutely amazing - they are crystaline and nearly see through in various light - very nasty (6:01:53 PM) dstahl: re: Team Focus - we have various people working on various tasks all the time - our schedules look like an excel monster - but we do focus on specific releases and the makup of those releases (6:02:32 PM) dstahl: re: Ship Testing - yes there was a big post-mordem about the Armitage - we continue to have issues like this and are making changes (6:02:56 PM) dstahl: re: Boff Power Searching on exchange - it is not on the schedule yet, but planned (6:03:49 PM) dstahl: re: Kits for KDF - this is a bigger issue with how KDF costumes were made - there is a long term goal to make this happen and it goes along with the kit revamp we want to do (6:04:22 PM) dstahl: re: Bugs - I don't have a schedule of when bugs get fixed - there is a huge database with priority and they crunch through as fast as they can (6:04:46 PM) dstahl: re: PVP leaderboards - these are planned for the PVP update (6:06:03 PM) dstahl: re: Re-unification and end of KDF war - this is a possible future storyline - but no spoilers yet (6:06:21 PM) dstahl: re: new sectors - yes several coming over the next year (6:06:54 PM) dstahl: re: Cross Faction Fleets - currently we aren't allowing this, but have discussed ways it could happen in the future (6:07:50 PM) dstahl: re: Sector with content - lol yes - new sectors will have new content - the first new sector is in Season 7, we are starting work on it as soon as S6 releases (6:08:04 PM) dstahl: re: Playable pakled ship - how would it go? (6:08:41 PM) dstahl: re: Soverign - it is coming soon (6:09:08 PM) dstahl: re: Civ traffic and attire - we are working on this right now but focused around your Starbase (6:09:51 PM) dstahl: re: Reinforcements Duty Officer Pack - it will replace the DS9 Cadre and it has a chance of a new ship that has some special qualities (6:10:29 PM) dstahl: re: Xindi - the species isn't specifically on our timeline, but it may show up in a future sector (6:10:53 PM) dstahl: re: DOFF Packs replacing lock boxes - not yet, but we are definitely experimenting with the right way to bundle items (6:11:25 PM) dstahl: re: Ambassador ship - it is currently scheduled for a specific storyline in a future Season (no details yet) but it is planned (6:11:54 PM) dstahl: RE: S6 on Tribble - you'll start seeing Season 6 on TRIBBLE over the next 3 weeks (6:12:13 PM) dstahl: re: Vesta - it is in the pipeline - no eta yet, still working out details (6:13:06 PM) dstahl: RE: TRIBBLE testing sarcasm - we hear you and understand the frustration - people do get in trouble over this stuff including myself (6:13:29 PM) dstahl: re: Ship in Reinforcements pack - stay tuned for more details on the website very soon (6:13:49 PM) dstahl: re: Audio tracks - there is rumor of new tracks in S6, but I haven't heard them yet (6:14:15 PM) dstahl: RE: Argo Shuttle/Ground Vehicle - we think this would be an awesome item for a special mission (6:14:46 PM) dstahl: re: Gold Perks or SB Advancement - nothing specific, but we do plan to add more perks in the future (6:15:06 PM) dstahl: re: new ship designs - they are coming (6:15:50 PM) dstahl: RE: Moving Crafting to Ships - look for changes similar to this to be tied to the crafting update planned for between S7 and S8 (6:16:29 PM) dstahl: RE: Ships/Free Ships - there will be all types of ships continually added to the game - some as soon as S6 tied to Fleet Advancement Tiers (6:17:14 PM) dstahl: re: New Engines - we do not have any new engines planned for STO, but we do have engineers continually working with Video Card makers to constantly improve our existing engine. (6:18:08 PM) dstahl: RE: Ships from other ST games: unfortunately no, our license is for movies and tv shows owned by CBS (6:18:53 PM) dstahl: re: KDF Season - not currently. We areinstead focusing on more KDF content for max level players intead of levels 1-18 because 90%+ of all players are max level (6:19:30 PM) dstahl: RE: EDCs, STFS and REewards - we are tackling this issue in S7