Dev Log - Stardate 23820.6

The past two weeks have been a whirlwind of activity. From rolling out multiple hotfixes to releasing our patch this Tuesday, our commitment to enhancing the game remains unwavering.

While we continue our pursuit of resolving issues, it's important to us that you, our players, remain informed about the direction we're headed. This Dev Log aims to shed light on our broader objectives and vision for the game.

Let's dive right in!

Patch Cadence
With the commitment to enhancing your Star Trek: Infinite experience in mind, we swiftly put together the 1.0.1 Patch in just four days—from the 17th to the 20th of October. We then entrusted our QA team to test and verify the changes, culminating in the fix we released on the Tuesday.

Our journey doesn't end here, though. We are ramping up our efforts to address bugs and implement quality of life upgrades. You can expect a steady roll-out of patches—at an estimated pace of one per week—for at least the upcoming month.

So expect the next patch early next week.

Hull Management
A resounding request from our player community has been for an even broader array of ships. At launch, we were proud to introduce nearly 100 meticulously crafted 3D models for ships and space stations. We poured our energy into ensuring each faction had its crucial slots filled, leaving no faction without a suitable ship or station.

However, in our drive to achieve this, certain iconic models were inevitably sidelined—like the Ambassador, Nebula-class, and the notable absence of the B'rel-class. These decisions stemmed from scope considerations, resource limitations, and the need for a system that would aptly accommodate them.

Our current endeavor focuses on developing a mechanism to interchange hull designs within each ship's size category. This aims to offer modders the flexibility to introduce additional ship hulls without displacing existing ones. Plus, it's a step forward in our commitment to continually bring fresh ship designs to our player base. While this feature remains in its infancy, I promise to be back with more detailed insights as it progresses.

UI Scaling
Addressing this challenge is intricately tied to the very engine on which we built Star Trek: Infinite. While it might seem like a straightforward tweak, it's not as simple as checking a box. Fortunately, our foresight ensured that our art assets were designed with scalability in mind. However, as with any complex system, increasing scale sometimes introduces unexpected quirks.

Rest assured, we're committed to enhancing this feature. While a comprehensive solution might evolve through gradual improvements, our team is already hard at work, exploring and testing fixes for specific elements of this challenge.

Playable Minor Nations
The idea of Playable Minor Nations has always resonated with us, lingering in our developmental thought process. Introducing it, however, is akin to adding an entirely new faction—a task of considerable magnitude.

Currently, we're diving deep into the feasibility of bringing this feature to life. Yet, it's crucial to understand that it's still in the exploratory phase. Much like introducing an entirely new faction, there's a myriad of intricacies and potential challenges we might encounter. For now, consider it “to be determined”-feature. We're excited about the possibility but are still navigating its complexities.


Stay tuned, and I'll return with more updates as and when they unfold.

PDX_Ruk

 

[Prussian Havoc]

Outstanding game!
And I know there is even more to come…
Mid-game Romulan experience currently. Looking forward to some Klingon action next. :bow:

 

[DiNardo1910]

Thanks for the update. As a 1440p player, I guess I will have to wait to play

 

[John MacWhat]

A suggestion related to making minor nations playable:

1. Consider adding a Victoria-style Great Powers-Secondary Powers-Minor Powers distinction where depending on how well a nation is doing, it moves up and down tiers

1a. This would also play nicely with adding some additional factions that players have asked for. The Ferengi Alliance, the Breen, the Gorn, the Sheliak, and perhaps some factions that were mentioned but never shown like the Tzenkethi, would all be appropriate secondary powers. In my mind a secondary power is the kind of empire where the Federation would most likely win a war but the adversary was strong enough that the idea of a war was deeply unpleasant.​

1b. Maybe a controversial opinion, but if the above scheme is adopted I would probably downgrade the Cardassians to a very strong secondary power. I personally never got the impression that they were a peer power to the Federation, Klingons, or Romulans.​

1c. Maybe a flexible system, where a major power is any empire that represents at least 20% of the balance of power, a secondary represents at least 5 or 10%, minors represent less than 10 or 5%​

2. Also consider adding additional victory conditions, because annexing minor powers as the main victory condition probably doesn't fit with playing in such a flexible system. Maybe more ways to gain civics? Intense research projects, galactic wonders, annexing home worlds directly could all be plausible sources of civics

 

[Miguelinileugim]

I would like to know the stats for which factions do the players play. Both in the Stellaris mods and in here I only ever play as the federation, and even if I'm not the norm at all I'd expect the federation to warrant a bit more content than the other three in the long run. Adding minor factions might be thrilling for some but being able to have a third or fourth path for the federation to take would be my preference.

 

[Tuskin38]

"and the notable absence of the B'rel-class."
Huh? The Klingons have the Bird of Prey. Unless the one in Infinite is meant to be the bigger K'vort?

 

[SAS]

Thanks for the update. As a 1440p player, I guess I will have to wait to play

Why exactly? I play on higher settings and have no issues.

 

[VILenin]

I appreciate your team's commitment to getting patches out in quick succession, and that you're covering both bugs and looking at QoL improvements. While it wasn't game breaking, I was very happy to see that you took the time to make Data immortal in the first patch, for instance. I'm one of those people who wants more ships, but Star Trek (especially the Federation) has a whole bevy of ships, so I understand why we couldn't get everything off the jump. I think your proposed solution for new ship hull types is a good one. The models already in the game are very high quality, so I have a lot of faith in whatever you add to the game. Any chance we can get the Scimitar for the Romulans?

Playable minors would certainly be fun, but I'd also be interested in more behavior options from minors, as well as just more minor races in general. The Tholians, Gorn, and Tzenkethi, for instance, could all be cool additions to the game, and it would make sense to give them a more aggressive or territorial AI. Maybe certain aggressive/xenophobic minors could have a behavior similar to certain Fallen Empires in Stellaris, where they're fairly passive overall but will attack and destroy outposts or colonies built next to their borders.

 

[namewhichisnottakenyet]

1b. Maybe a controversial opinion, but if the above scheme is adopted I would probably downgrade the Cardassians to a very strong secondary power. I personally never got the impression that they were a peer power to the Federation, Klingons, or Romulans.

I agree with you here. In my opinion, the Cardassian-Federation border war was pretty much the Cardassians trying (and failing) to show the galaxy that they were a great power on par with the Federation, but they only survived because the Federation was entirely uninterested in actually defeating them and just sent a few ships to the front to keep the Cardassians out if Federation territory while the diplomatic corps was busy trying to concince the Cardassians that the war was a stupid idea and hammer out a peace deal. Which the Cardassian internal propaganda probably turned into a great victory, because they had survived a war against the Federation and conquered a few Federation colonies in the process (ignore that they also lost some of their own colonies)
When the Klingons - who were under no such constraints - went to war against the Cardassians a few years later, the Cardassians were absolutely obliterated and they'd probably been completely occupied and puppeted if not outright conquered if they hadn't joined the Dominion.


Realistically, I'd estimate the balance of power in the mid-24th century closer to Federation: 45%, Romulans and Klingons: both between 20 and 25%, Cardassians: 10%

 

[DiNardo1910]

Why exactly? I play on higher settings and have no issues.

then you have better eyes than mine. the text is tiny

 

[Markieness]

Personally im happy that the 4 majors are on a similar power level, but i guess thats a 'game vs sim' personal preference thing.

On Minor powers being playable i guess the biggest question would be their goal? Atm the 'Game' is all about gobbling up the Minors. Would playing a Minor be more of a sandbox experience? or would there be a tipping point of expansion where they graduate to a Major and join the race?

Really hopeful to see where this game goes though.

At the moment id really like to see more reasons to interact with the other Majors, maybe more events like the Khitomer accords. Things that force you to take sides.

Also id kinda like to see a way of unassimilating Minors from other Majors. It would encourage interaction. Say if one faction had nearly won the others could team up to make them release some.

 

[HotDoggerson]

A suggestion related to making minor nations playable:

1. Consider adding a Victoria-style Great Powers-Secondary Powers-Minor Powers distinction where depending on how well a nation is doing, it moves up and down tiers

1a. This would also play nicely with adding some additional factions that players have asked for. The Ferengi Alliance, the Breen, the Gorn, the Sheliak, and perhaps some factions that were mentioned but never shown like the Tzenkethi, would all be appropriate secondary powers. In my mind a secondary power is the kind of empire where the Federation would most likely win a war but the adversary was strong enough that the idea of a war was deeply unpleasant.​

1b. Maybe a controversial opinion, but if the above scheme is adopted I would probably downgrade the Cardassians to a very strong secondary power. I personally never got the impression that they were a peer power to the Federation, Klingons, or Romulans.​

1c. Maybe a flexible system, where a major power is any empire that represents at least 20% of the balance of power, a secondary represents at least 5 or 10%, minors represent less than 10 or 5%​

2. Also consider adding additional victory conditions, because annexing minor powers as the main victory condition probably doesn't fit with playing in such a flexible system. Maybe more ways to gain civics? Intense research projects, galactic wonders, annexing home worlds directly could all be plausible sources of civics

I would love this. It would definitely make it more replayable IMO, especially with friends.

 

[Weregobbie]

"and the notable absence of the B'rel-class."
Huh? The Klingons have the Bird of Prey. Unless the one in Infinite is meant to be the bigger K'vort?

Yes, they meant the K'Vort. The larger version with the bent wings up in attack mode. You're correct.

 

[Weregobbie]

Dev Log - Stardate 23820.6

The past two weeks have been a whirlwind of activity. From rolling out multiple hotfixes to releasing our patch this Tuesday, our commitment to enhancing the game remains unwavering.

While we continue our pursuit of resolving issues, it's important to us that you, our players, remain informed about the direction we're headed. This Dev Log aims to shed light on our broader objectives and vision for the game.

Let's dive right in!

View attachment 1036099

Patch Cadence
With the commitment to enhancing your Star Trek: Infinite experience in mind, we swiftly put together the 1.0.1 Patch in just four days—from the 17th to the 20th of October. We then entrusted our QA team to test and verify the changes, culminating in the fix we released on the Tuesday.

Our journey doesn't end here, though. We are ramping up our efforts to address bugs and implement quality of life upgrades. You can expect a steady roll-out of patches—at an estimated pace of one per week—for at least the upcoming month.

So expect the next patch early next week.

View attachment 1036100

Hull Management
A resounding request from our player community has been for an even broader array of ships. At launch, we were proud to introduce nearly 100 meticulously crafted 3D models for ships and space stations. We poured our energy into ensuring each faction had its crucial slots filled, leaving no faction without a suitable ship or station.

However, in our drive to achieve this, certain iconic models were inevitably sidelined—like the Ambassador, Nebula-class, and the notable absence of the B'rel-class. These decisions stemmed from scope considerations, resource limitations, and the need for a system that would aptly accommodate them.

Our current endeavor focuses on developing a mechanism to interchange hull designs within each ship's size category. This aims to offer modders the flexibility to introduce additional ship hulls without displacing existing ones. Plus, it's a step forward in our commitment to continually bring fresh ship designs to our player base. While this feature remains in its infancy, I promise to be back with more detailed insights as it progresses.

View attachment 1036101
UI Scaling
Addressing this challenge is intricately tied to the very engine on which we built Star Trek: Infinite. While it might seem like a straightforward tweak, it's not as simple as checking a box. Fortunately, our foresight ensured that our art assets were designed with scalability in mind. However, as with any complex system, increasing scale sometimes introduces unexpected quirks.

Rest assured, we're committed to enhancing this feature. While a comprehensive solution might evolve through gradual improvements, our team is already hard at work, exploring and testing fixes for specific elements of this challenge.

View attachment 1036102

Playable Minor Nations
The idea of Playable Minor Nations has always resonated with us, lingering in our developmental thought process. Introducing it, however, is akin to adding an entirely new faction—a task of considerable magnitude.

Currently, we're diving deep into the feasibility of bringing this feature to life. Yet, it's crucial to understand that it's still in the exploratory phase. Much like introducing an entirely new faction, there's a myriad of intricacies and potential challenges we might encounter. For now, consider it “to be determined”-feature. We're excited about the possibility but are still navigating its complexities.


Stay tuned, and I'll return with more updates as and when they unfold.

PDX_Ruk

So, If I read this correctly, you're going to rely upon Modders to fix the missing Canon ships?
If that is the case, are you going to provide modding tools for us to do that?

Additionally, while I understand y'all are working on bugs and fixing the UI...why are you choosing to let modders do your work for ships? (if your answer is yet to previous question). If that was the case, why did you even launch the game when Stellaris had the new horizons mod that pretty much had all the models that people are requesting or asking about?

 

[Prussian Havoc]

Just say’in… there are some darn good ST mods with excellent ships. Wouldn‘t mind seeing some in Infinite. And it would happen much quicker than what I understand is still the Dev intent, which is to eventually add more ships for each faction.

 

[Sete]

"Our current endeavor focuses on developing a mechanism to interchange hull designs within each ship's size category. "

Awesome.
Fingers crossed for Walker Class.

 

[Prussian Havoc]

"Our current endeavor focuses on developing a mechanism to interchange hull designs within each ship's size category. "

Awesome.
Fingers crossed for Walker Class.

So… idk. What would this mechanism do?

 

[Sete]

So… idk. What would this mechanism do?

If I understood correctly for example instead of a Miranda class, you could go to the ship builder and just select another hull from a similar sized ship. Serves the same purpose but looks diferent. My assumption tho.

 

[Little Tee]

The priority post launch for any game is always and obviously fixing things that were missed that prevent the game from working as intended. This is a given. Developers are Human, but there seems to be an awful lot of 'humanity' in the wider game developing world lately. That's all I'll say on that matter.

This aside, some of the things in this devblog give me further cause for concern than those I already expressed in response to a previous, bearded, devblog.

For one thing, while the ability to play as minor races is cool, it utterly sidesteps, or worse, follows the path of least resistance, when it comes to solving what for me is the biggest single issue when it comes to 'having fun' playing this game.

There are only 4 empires that really matter. In my opinion, aside from the many lore related issues with the IP it purports to explore, this is one of the core problems that this game suffers from. I could be wrong, but I feel like this game was designed to be either played as the Federation on a cellphone, or else as some kind of weird '4 player quick play Stellaris arena... batlle... thing' and was then branded with the IP in order to sell more copies. Which it probably did, so... kudos, I guess?

The Ferengi as a political entity (like Cardassia, or the Tholians) weren't a major part of any of the shows, rather individuals allowed us to understand Ferengi customs and culture, and I think a lot of the reason people see them as a major race in a Trek game is purely because of BotF. I was still disappointed to see them 'relegated' to being just a sad mix of the Caravaneers and various Enclaves from Stellaris. I mean... They were definitely more important and prominent than, say, the Tanugans, who get a whole planet and empire borders to themselves.

Nausicaans, while also playing quite a minor role in Star Trek political terms, are the simple purveyors of Mercenary fleets, rather than a race in their own right. I mean, for all my complaints about lore, I will concede that the choice of race for this and the Caravaneer roles was a good fit. There is, though, a wealth of other choices that could have been made in order to allow both Ferengi and Nausicaans a chance to be 'real' powers. Again... this comes from not diverging enough from Stellaris. Those gameplay roles had to be filled. I could be wrong, but I'd be willing to bet that the idea of simply not including either role never even came up in the design meetings.

As an aside, the Mercenary Enclave feature is, and has been since its introduction, in dire need of a major major balance pass even in Stellaris, and while there are subtle differences in Infinite, the same core problems with the mechanic have been inherited. Why it was even necessary, particularly when considering the size of the fleets for hire, to put this feature in a Star Trek game is beyond my understanding. It's an intersting mechanic, but whether you use it to your advantage, or it is used against you, the balance - or lack thereof - when it comes to its effect on the global balance of power is shockingly unbalanced in both games.

The Borg. They were always going to be a crisis, and without a major mechanical divergeance from Stellaris, just like with the Ferengi and the Nausicaans, people who imagine otherwise will remain disappointed. I've used that word a lot in relation to this game.

I personally like the Borg as a crisis. I think it fits. But the crisis is a chore. I'm sorry to put a spoiler in here. Janeway appeared pretty much out of nowhere and rushed to a modded Romulus to give the Romulan Senate joyful news of her triumphant return from the Delta Quadrant. This was slightly confusing, but here we are. Sending her back, in her shiny green Romulan science ship, to the same system time after time after time to do the special project was just not exciting or interesting. I'm not asking for the Borg to be in the levels of a 25x Unbidden crisis from Stellaris, but I will say that my fleet wasn't particularly big and I was genuinely underwhelmed by the whole affair. If anyone has played STO, then you'll understand if I tell you a daily Dilithium Mining run for 10 characters is more interesting.

And so, if you're still here, on to my point. This game drastically needs more major powers. Maybe not necessarily playable, but they need to exist at the very least as second tier 'non-protagonist' major powers because the galaxy is simply boring without them. It fine to only have a few major powers present in the shows because we only saw the action from the POV of a single group of characters, but this is not the case in Infinite. I don't want a Stellaris clone. Let me be clear about that.

When I say the galaxy is 'boring', I mean exactly that. I don't mean too easy, or too hard, I mean boring. 'Empty' might be a more generous word. I've already talked about the mission trees in a previous post, but aside from that, you have 3 players or AIs to meaningfully interact with. Allowing us to play as minor powers like in Imperator, or some mod for one of the Total War games simply is not going to make this game all that more interesting. Or is the plan to make some way for minors to develop into majors?

Outside of the obvious potential the Bajorans might have for fun and challenging gameplay, what will be the tangible difference between playing as the Malcorians or as the Acamarians? Will all 20 minor powers get mission trees of their own? Shipsets? Will each minor power really have their own narrative, gameplay nuances, and shipset? Are those the DLC that are coming down the pipes? I don't want to get all 'Ancient Aliens' here, ask a rhetorical question, and then proceed to assume the answer is yes. That would be be an amazing set of DLC, but before you even dream of thinking about selling that kind of DLC, please first fill my galaxy with Gorn, Tholians, Breen, Tzenkethi, real Ferengi and Nausicaans, and whoever the heck is on the other side of the Romulan and Klingon Empires.

Whether I can build Ambassador, Steamrunner, or Akira class ships is not what is going to fix this game.

I predict, with all the implications and ramifications for how the future development of this game will pan out, that the Ferengi and the Nausicaans will never get to play with the big boys, that we will never play as the Borg, and that even as we speak, the roadmap for the Dominion is likely to be as an endgame crisis. The probably lost and wasted potential there, for an antithesis of Federation gameplay in the Gamma Quadrant which I doubt we'll even ever see because if I'm right, it will be a single 'Founder's' planet you go to, rather than an actual part of the map, like how a crisis might work in Stellaris.

I appreciate that there may be more going on elsewhere, and that Steam may not be the be all and end all of 'who is playing the game', but it's very telling that no matter what time of day or night I look there are less than 1000 people in game.

If you like the game, you like the game. That's your absolute right. My feeling is that there needs to be a very sharp, 'ramped up and swiftly put together' change of direction for this game. 'Giving it time' is something I'd prefer to do for products I haven't paid for yet.

 

[Prussian Havoc]

Infinite already works as an amazingly effective gateway game for Stellaris.

I find myself, an earlier Stellaris gamer who stopped buying DLC’s quite some time ago, reviewing which new DLC’s I would need to jump back into Stellaris.

Maybe a key purpose of Infinite is not so much to STEP AWAY from Stellaris, as it is to entice players back to Stellaris?