Factions FAQ
Table of Contents
- Federation related queries
- Why aren't the Galaxy/Sovereign Classes the most awesomely über powerful warships in the game?
- Why isn't the Galaxy Class buildable?
- Why no "saucer separation" for the Galaxy Class?
- Why isn't there a Prometheus Class in game?
- Why is the Miranda II (or Excelsior II) so powerful given their age?
- Why can't I choose what vessels Warp-In, and why isn't the feature upgradeable?
- Why don't all Starfleet vessels carry Quantum Torpedoes by now?
- Why doesn't the Federation have access to cloaking technology?
- Why isn't the Federation called Starfleet in Fleet Operations?
- Questions about the other FO factions
- How do I pronounce some of the unit names?
- Why doesn't the Borg Collective have an "experience system" like the others?
- Are the Cardassians going to be in?
- Will the Remans be included in Fleet Operations?
- Why are the Breen so heavily integrated into the Dominion technology-tree?
- Why don't factions other than the Dominion and Federation have access to fighter carriers?
- What's the logic behind the current turret system?
Why aren't the Galaxy/Sovereign Classes the most awesomely über powerful warships in the game?
Why isn't the Galaxy Class buildable?
However, do not despair, for with a few simple steps you can mod your own version of Fleet Ops to allow the Galaxy Class and other Warp-In vessels to be buildable (note that this will prevent you from being able to play online however).
Buildable Galaxy, without Warp-In version:
1. Add fed_Galaxy to the yard of choice.
2. Add fed_Galaxy.odf 0 to the techtree.
3. Remove the warp-In cap or replace it with a new one of your choice.
4. Remove all Galaxy Class mention from the Warp-In files (all_cap_warpin.odf).
Buildable Galaxy, with Warp-In version:
1. Make a copy of all Galaxy and Type-3 torpedo Galaxy files (all ranks) and rename to something else (for example: fed_GalaxyA, including adding the basename code to Rank1).
2. Make a copy of Rank 1 for the Risner Avatar (for example: fed_GalaxyYA).
3. Add fed_GalaxyA & fed_GalaxyYA to the yard of choice.
4. Add fed_GalaxyA & fed_GalaxyYA to the techtree as Chassis 2 ships.
5. Remove the warp-In cap (all_cap_warpin.odf) or replace it with a new one of your choice.
5. Change the Type-3 Torpedo, Veteran rank-up files to include the buildable version of the ship.
Why no "saucer separation" for the Galaxy Class?
The developers have certain plans to include saucer separation - just not as an active ability which is used as a military pattern. It should maintain its emergency character.
Why isn't there a Prometheus Class in game?
Why is the Miranda II (or Excelsior II) so powerful given their age?
Why can't I choose what vessels Warp-In, and why isn't the feature upgradeable?
Warp-In is meant to be an interesting game element, not a game-ender. Likewise, the Warp-In feature is a distress call – you can’t pick what vessels respond to your pleas for help now can you? As a result the developers do not like the idea of changing the warp-in mechanics or making them upgradeable. If you really want battleships for your strategy, feel free to build them as you can't get everything free. The ships you warp in are reinforcements from Starfleet and because you can’t suck every vessel out of the Federation there is a limit, represented by the Warp-In slots.
Why don't all Starfleet vessels carry Quantum Torpedoes by now?
The developer team does not believe that basic technology will change in just 20 years. As can be seen in game, more modern designs like the Sovereign or the Excelsior-II vessels carry quantum torpedoes, but hey, photon torpedoes are more than 200 years old now and still in service -- why change that! Although you might think that the "Dominion War Crisis" would have brought some of the newer weapons into serial production, like the Quantum Pulse or Particle Weapons, these weapons are still rare and only used on some designs. Consequently they are not a general replacement for "bread and butter" weapons. Photons and older vessels might probably be also cheaper to produce than Quantum weaponry.
Why doesn't the Federation have access to cloaking technology?
Cloaking is a Romulan feature and therefore it would be unusual for a Federation player to use it - otherwise everyone would be flying around with quantum torpedoes, Borg regenerative systems and the ilk. As Gene Roddenberry himself said "Federation vessels do not go creeping around the cosmos". The developers always felt that cloaking was a key Romulan and Klingon element and should be kept for them. Likewise, the Treaty of Algeron states that only the original USS Defiant (not the renamed USS São Paulo) was allowed to use a cloaking device. The Romulans never did give the Federation the blueprints of the cloaking device, so the Federation cannot reproduce it (and don't tell Optec they could have looked at it and seen how it was built and how it worked - if it was that easy, the developers would already have the armada2 sourcecode). On the other hand, there are some ideas to give the other factions a few single units under certain circumstances that have similar capabilities. Remember the "low energy stealth mode (grey mode)" from Voyager?
Why isn't the Federation called Starfleet in Fleet Operations?
The Federation is not only Starfleet. There are Federation vessels (like the civilian Mediterranean, Mandril, and Newton classes), defense establishments and Starbases, too. Furthermore, other now mainstream Starfleet vessels started out as Federation designs. For instance, the Canaveral was part of a greater program, granting Federation-Member-Planets without advanced yards the ability to built and equip their own starships for science and trading reasons. The Canaveral is therefore a quite common Federation (not Starfleet) vessel and Starfleet utilized her for scouting and patrol purposes with the equipment you can find in Fleet Operations. Starfleet relies on the resources of the Federation (as exhibited by Warp-In and up-and-coming features) and is merely the military wing of the faction. After all, we don't call the Romulans in Fleet Ops the "Galea" or the "Tal'Shiar", yet these are parts of their military organization.
Questions about the other FO factions
How do I pronounce some of the unit names?
Download Klingon Vessel Name Audio Files as a zip.
Download Romulan Vessel Name Audio Files as a zip.
Download Assorted Name Audio Files as a zip.
Why doesn't the Borg Collective have an "experience system" like the others?
The Borg currently do not have such a mechanic for several gameplay and game engine issues. First off, an individual experience system would not fit the Collective's style, as individual drones do not gain experience separately of the Collective - unlike Starfleet captains , whose expertise is demonstrated by their respective vessels being more powerful than the starship of an inexperienced captain. Although a global upgrade system has been proposed, this would be extremely difficult (if not impossible) to pull off, not to mention that it would be inherently unbalancing over the length of a long game. Instead, the Borg will be getting a wholly different "experience system" which should be a nice compromise. Some of this is seen with patch 3.1.0, as certain module combinations or choices will give resilience with respect to certain weapon classes, but the real goodies will come later. In essence, the Borg will adapt.
Are the Cardassians going to be in?
Will the Remans be included in Fleet Operations?
Why are the Breen so heavily integrated into the Dominion technology-tree?
Why don't factions other than the Dominion and Federation have access to fighter carriers?
In Star Trek it is extremely rare to see fighter craft because they are (or at least were) completely useless. The advantage of fighters are their relatively high speed and the ability to evade weapons fire during combat. But Star Trek weapon technology and targettng computers are so advanced (at least in The Next Generation) that the weapons nearly always hit the target. A photon torpedo is able to correct its course completely, so you just would have to fire one torpedo on a fighter and that's it. Usually a twenty fourth century starship computer would be good enough to pre-calculate movement, as even your personal computer can do that (which is also why moving vessels in Fleet Operations receive no weapon avoidance benefits)! For that reason there are no small fighters or similar vessels in TNG.
In the Deep Space 9 action scenes they started to make torpedoes not hit their target and beam weapons missing constantly because that looks good on the screen... and bang, you have fighters.
Although you can see Jem’Hadar destroyers or B’rels as fighters, these are far more powerful than a “shuttlecraft” sized fighter. As always, there will be non-playable factions which have fighters. For instance, the Hydran Kingdom (known from Star Trek Fleet Command) or the Eridians (which were originally planned to be the eighth playable faction before the Dominion replaced them by popular demand) will both have fighters.
What's the logic behind the current turret system?
The developers feel that the Klingon Empire would rather build large, gigantic cannons than field a system that allows them to produce many small turrets. This type of system reminds one more of mine fields or similar defense grids, which sound much more Romulan in nature. After all, the Romulan Star Empire had hundreds of ships in service, just to patrol the neutral zone. They wouldn't use all their resources just to secure a single sector – it’s not like the Romulans to put all their cards on the table. Consequently, that’s why they have the cheapest mass-producible turret. In addition, this feature also supports their isolationist character. The Federation - a group of defense-fanatics - has the greatest flexibility in turrets and a good early-game turret too. The Dominion features large blockade platforms (the Perimeter) such as those seen at Cardassia during the Dominion War.
That being said, the Romulan gameplay is not laid out around conventional turrets, like the Dominion or the Federation for example. A Romulan player should always deploy an agile force, to act and disturb hostile strategies. A "reactive" strategy pattern - where you let your opponents make the first move - might fit the Federation techtree and ship layout better. If you love turrets and stationary defenses, warm-up for the Dominion. A Vorta commander just recently promised Optec a lot of new cool features in this corner for their faction redo.
