Featured Episode - A Step Between Stars

[Mark Speed]

If anyone is having trouble figuring out how to start the new featured episode, you need to go to the Dyson Sphere gateway in the Tau Dewa sector.  The mission then takes you to an instanced version of the Joint Command.  You cannot transwarp to the Dyson Sphere and go to that version of Joint Command to start the mission.

[~Maiax~]

This may be obvious for many of you, but I spent some time figuring that out.

So I take the liberty of adding that you can actually re-aquire this mission and re-enter it several times. What you need is to go to Episodes list, select Featured, then Reenter.

[Wupteedo]

Oh man, was almost done; approaching the Voth Dreadnought in the other Dyson Sphere, and the server died (KKkkkHHHhhAAAaaaNNNnnn).   

The Dyson Science-Ship Hybrid seems interesting none the less and look forward to acquiring one. 

 

[~Maiax~]

Yes, this is depressing - proportionally to the rewards' appeal.

Those ships - although no match for a Tier 5 vessel rigged for war, in my opinion - have an eye-candy look and some unique capabilities (not to mention the 4th part of the Solanae space set).

As for the server: just like Elvis (ie., still dead). :-P

[Wupteedo]

This makes Baby Jesus wearing a TOS Dress Uniform wanna cry:

[~Maiax~]

Maybe it's their unique way of celebrating the 4th Anniversary.

I'd bet that Q was angry with his dubious likeness in the game and made it crash.

[Edward Hau]

patched after the final debacle last night:

Added the ability to start the mission if you are already inside Joint Command or if you are trying to get inside of Joint Command through the Allied Zone in the Dyson Sphere.

[CAPT Huckabee]

I really like the episode.  Really enjoying the Voice over work for the newer missions.  Reading the text just don't have the same affect.  The new ship seemed to have a lot of nifty powers, but still just not my style.  I would like it better if it looked the part of a Fed ship in looks (ie no purple accents), not just design. Not a fan of the "transformer" design of it like the Chimera is.  Too many moving parts for things to go wrong, got to be a nightmare for the chief engineer.

[Gerron Vek]

I want to get Attack Pattern Tuvok :) I didnt look at it super close but it seemed to be just a renamed Attack Pattern Omega. The chief engineer had a power that mimicked Mirical worker as well. I wonder if we can get stuff like that for our boffs.

[Wupteedo]

Ran it through with four different toons.  It flowed nicely, voice work was excellent, and it felt like a true away mission.  Only real problem for me was mastering  the flight controls on the space suit.  Interesting enough, each of the Dyson ships seemed to be tailored to which toon I was playing (Tac, Sci, Eng), good forethought on Cryptic's part.  Also, the energy beam that blew out the Airlock Gate and blew-up the Voth Dreadnought was a little over the top. 

"The Weak shall perish" is what the Undine said as if left the room where it attacked Tuvok.  After the battle in the J-Sphere, I think the Undine better wise up.  So, at the end of the day, who is our real enemy on STO:  1) Undine, 2) Voth, 3) Iconians (and their minions), 4) Borg, or 5) Another unknown force?

[VADM pRett]

I hope Cryptic never, ever, EVER hire the voice actor they used for Cooper again; his voice's annoyance factor is almost up there with the Map on Dora the Explorer.

[~Maiax~]

In my humble opinion, the episode is truly amazing and diverse.

But when you run it three times in a row (I did it on Advanced difficulty), so you can equip 3 out of 4 Solanae set, the mission becomes obvious and tiresome. Very little variance, if any.

Other than that, Tuvok was great, and cinematics plus area layout was flawless.

I still don't 'believe' in Science Destroyers. They are not much more than toys, when compared to a fully combat-upgraded Scimitar.

[Wupteedo]

Marcielia T wrote:  "I still don't 'believe' in Science Destroyers. They are not much more than toys, when compared to a fully combat-upgraded Scimitar."

 

Agreed, especially in a one-on-one combat.  However, your Scimitar with a Sci/Eng ships backing you in PVP or an STF would put a big check in the win column.  Science ships are designed first and foremost to be support ships.  The Science Destroyer is much like the Chimera Heavy Destroyer ships; hybrid. 

Case in point, back in the day (October 2012), the CE required a 20-ship team and was actually hard.  For a long time the record for beating the CE was around 2:25.  However, the 7th Fleet was up to the challenge and was determined to beat the record.  With some training, lots of discussion, coordination of ships, and good leadership, the 7th Fleet was able to break the record at exactly 2 minutes.  IMHO, the secret to the success was the six or so Science Ships that surrounded the fleet and kept the CE fragments away from the fleet and the gravity wells thrown at the CE.  It was indeed a glorious victory for the 7th.  The only loss that day was a young Commander in his new Tactical Ship with Mark XI (blue) weapons, who didn't know how to reverse his ship.  We won't mention any names (see name bar below).   Somewhere in our achieves is a video of that great battle.

When word got out about the 7th's Fleet 2-minute victory over the CE, Cryptic Developers in their shame, pulled the CE from the game.  It was later introduced in it's current "nerf'd" form we all play today. 

[~Maiax~]

What a wonderful view to behold! And a glorious accomplishment.

The more I long to the moment when fleet operations will also be held earlier in the day, so I am able to take part in them.

And you are right, Sir, no starship can win alone, or with poor coordination, or with an inconsistent team not complementing one another. My vessel has many weaknesses, as she is rigged mainly for direct, frontal Plasma damage and shield bypassing.

[VADM pRett]

I think the Science Destroyer has its place, and I did win a 1v1 versus another Sci in his Hirogen Apex. I was in Science mode the whole time, he had approximately 15k or so more hull than I did. My hull never got lower than 75% or so, and the only hull heal I had was Hazard Emitters.

I'd be willing to test it out in a 1v1 versus a Scimitar.