Star Trek Online....

My last post about my PC STO game-play came hot on the heels of being a 'bit' peeved at some random TFO interactions. It can't be helped(both random interactions and 'some players', never mind reacting to it all; It happens and sometimes it boils over(I guess that's what a blog is for...) This last week has seen a lot of AFK players in TFO's and it kills the game experience for me. Not to harp on a point but players who do are the bad name epitome of 'randoms'; It used to be so much better. I don't get why there's been such an increase in players who don't want to know TFO tactics. Playing a game by not playing a game...  I've seen groups fall apart if it's more than just doing DPS. Then again I'm a mainly a solo player in an MMO so go figure.....

Not much has changed on the PC score but the latest event ship has proven to me that bigger ships can be fun to fly. The Jarok Alliance Carrier handles well, much better than any other larger ship around the same size. I may have to set it up properly and test some things out.

Other than that it's the same'ol, same'ol..... 

Not even a gravity well will stop me from looting....

I've spent some more time than usual on the Xbox version and thought an update on that would be 'interesting'.....

Playing STO on Xbox is a much more casual experience for me than on PC... As if that wasn't casual either. So I suppose I'm super causal on the Xbox version.

Not that I spend much time on the game. 90% of the time I log in, click a few bits, do the event daily standing at the bank.... 

Ships; In order from less used to most.... On my main. All still 'works in progress'.

With a really slapdash fit of whatever was leftover handy in the inventory of the moment; The Alliance Temer. A fun decent ship that's grown on me on all platforms. That said, on my Xbox main it's fit gets the last look in on any items not used on the ships before it. If I had more inventory space I'd probably have discharged it so it keeps it's fit out of my inventory and so becomes more useful....

Next on the list the Ferengi Nandi. A free ship that started me on STO on the Xbox. I wasn't going to pass up a free ship and I'm glad it was this ship. A bit long in the tooth these day's(for handling) but still a lot of fun. Kept for both practical gameplay fun and nostalgia. Like the Temer it gets the leftovers from ships above it(not all bad). 

Next up the Andorean Kyzon. I picked it from my PC experiences with the ship. Fast, fun with good dps and survivability. A true favorite for me, just under the Bajoran Interceptor overall. I love it's wing cannons. When they proc and you get and almost endless stream of fire... Thing to behold. Not that I can explain the series of events to proc or the stat chances but it happens and I like it!

Top of the list for my main is the Risian Corvette. Everything I said about the previous ship but morose(but no wing cannons). An event ship that was my goto on PC for a long time. One the just pipped the Bajoran Interceptor(again) and the upgraded Kyzon. Like the cannon of the Kyzon when the voice of the prophets experimental weapon 'procs' and there's a stream of fire form it... again with the thing to behold. Plus the DPS numbers in space do look good.

With the recent Phoenix prize pack 'event' ongoing I took advantage of it for more upgrade tokens. Being casual or super casual has lead to a large build up of refined Dilithium to really take advantage of such 'purchase power'. Not that I'm counting it all.

In trading between characters I was hammered however by a lack of account bank space.... Just one account bank slot. In looking to convert Dil to Zen to 'buy' an account bank slot pack I noticed that I'd already got 3500 Zen from previous conversions... I surprised myself that I'd forgotten about having that amount and bought one of the bank slot 'extenders' for 1000. Expensive even when spending 'free' Zen but worth it for the ease of trading between characters. 

I've no clue what I might have been trying to build it up for but I generally don't convert on either platform.... Still it's worth it on Xbox.

Even the max Dil to Zen on the Xbox version is so much lower then on PC... I've complained about that before, getting all nostalgic for those days on PC; But what can a PC player do.

So yea, otherwise as with the PC version I'm 'just' doing event dailies and the usual character upkeep(R&D, Admiralty, Doff, Dil 'grind'); Mainly on two characters but a third is 'getting there' and is about 80% a main.

As for those details on my main......

Currencies/marks:

Doff's:

R&D:

Admiralty:

All very work in progress.

Given my cat in a cat carrier distraction all but done on PC(more here and here on that) I really need to 'focus'(as much as a casual can) instead of such faffing, fun tho it may be. With all my 'recruit' characters on PC done with their unlocks; I've been toying with the idea of really getting into the Xbox character versions. My main on Xbox is a Temporal Recruit and still needs a good few bits completed. 

The current Red Alert Event is ongoing... 

As for plans, there are none. Fun and the need for a change from PC is what will drive Xbox STO gameplay for me..... Whims of a gamer.

Clones.....?

They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery; On a base level often times its a fine line between being influenced by and straight up plagiarism. Two games that have interested me of late are essentially Subnautica clones, but in the good way. It's all further complicated by game engine, models and rights so I won't even attempt to speak about those; Suffice it to say there's a lot of similarity in a lot of ways. Besides it's not like Subnautica hasn't done well, as opposed to poor Unpacking recently(great game).

So two games..... One is still an under the sea adventure; The other is more a 'complete conversion' as your on a planet making do instead of under an ocean.

Both have menus, items, game mechanics, textures and 'feel' the same as Subnautica; But both have a take all their own and both I think will be worth it in the end. One sooner than the other.

INFLUXIS (https://store.steampowered.com/app/1393830/INFLUXIS/)


INFLUXIS is in "Early Access" and is more a 'clone' of Subnautica; So it's a single player sci-fi underwatery survival game. 

It's in it's early stages(Beta in summer '22)... Unpolished in a lot of ways with interesting elements of newness to it. Done by a one man 'team' it's roots are clearly seen coming from Subnautica. But I think it's worth not causally dismissing it. There's genuine effort to make a game that's worthy in different ways while keeping things similar... Like it's an alternative reality, the same but different. Playable(but janky) and interesting to see develop, worth keeping an eye on.

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The Planet Crafter

Prologue(Demo)

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1830840/The_Planet_Crafter_Prologue/

While so much of this game can directly translate from what a player knows of Subnautica(and Minecraft); It's more a No Man's Sky(jetpack and all) crossover of Subnautica. It's land based and tries to do something more in positive ways than being a 'clone'. It's incredibly playable as is!!!!!!! 

It's a lot more of a fleshed out game than INFLUXIS; And I found myself  'playing it' in the same Subnautica/Minecraft and No Man's Sky way. Explore, gather, craft, scramble for oxygen before it runs out. Yes the playability is strong. It's got objectives and there's a compelling sense of accomplishment as you go, just by surviving..... As with Subnautica etc. I've not seen any other life forms but I'm ok with that. 

As I usually say, a picture is worth a thousand words, so here's a bunch of screenshots.

Miju Games