This forums is for questions, answers, and discussion about First Edition rules, formats, and expansions.
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First Edition Rules Master
By BCSWowbagger (James Heaney)
 - First Edition Rules Master
 -  
Community Contributor
#585396
It's Friday, so it's time for a Friday Question.

Are you having more fun with the STCCG than you were in 2002? Why or why not?

There's a few years I could ask about, and, in the future, I may do just that! This week, however, I picked 2002.

In 2002, Decipher released The Motion Pictures, the final Decipher Glossary, the most drastic ban/errata list in its history... and Second Edition. It was the end of the road for 1E.

This is sort of the fundamental question for the Continuing Committee: have we made the game more fun than it was 20 years ago, when Decipher stopped supporting the game? If so, then our existence is justified. If not... what are we doing here? (And what are YOU doing here?)
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By Armus (Brian Sykes)
 - The Center of the Galaxy
 -  
Regent
Community Contributor
#585401
Given that I retired after Worlds 2002 and didn't pick 1e Constructed back up until the OTF era a decade later, and here I am *a decade after that* not only still playing, but prepping for my 2nd "new era" 1e Worlds and first since 2014.... I think the answer is an easy and resounding YES!

Low bar question, but I did manage to clear it. :wink:
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By boromirofborg (Trek Barnes)
 - Beta Quadrant
 -  
1E North American Continental Quarter-Finalist 2023
2E North American Continental Quarter-Finalist 2023
#585411
In 2002, I had pretty much given up on STCCG.

- Decipher had released LOTR, a game that I actually had other people to play with and found much more fun. I also changed my forum handle from 10 of 10321 (long-distance drone) (I wonder if anyone remembers that reference) to the (still current) Boromir of Borg.

- I didn't like Second Edition compared to 1E, so it seemed like an obvious time to move away

- Decipher changed their forums. I know this seems stupid and minor, but I liked the old Decipher forums at the time. They were outdated even then, but having used them for years they were comfortable. And when they changed, it was harder to stay connected.


So, while I might not be a heavily active player of 1E (no paper tournaments, etc) I am engaged with the game much more. This is one of the websites I check daily again. I've played a couple virtual tournaments. I started playing 2E in paper (still prefer 1E, but when one has players nearby...).

I think about the game on a much heavier basis. I've been working on a tool to allow a new kind of sealed, and think I have it near beta testable. (and it works directly with lackey).

Overall, I'm very happy with the state of the game compared to 2002.
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By Orbin (James Monsebroten)
 - Delta Quadrant
 -  
#585412
Yes, but a big part of that is the fact that my attitude has shifted. Back in early 2000s I was extremely competitive. I enjoyed the game, but I stressed too much about ratings and winning. I used the seed phase rules to my advantage and would try to take advantage of any mistake my opponent made in that phase.

An example of this is in a worlds day 1 match (either 1999 or 2000) I was playing against someone who was using Empok Nor deck (I can't remember who it was... I'm really bad with names). They passed before they seeded sites near the end of the seed phase when I still had seed cards left, so I passed to end the phase denying them the ability to seed the sites they needed for Empok Nor by sacrificing a few seed cards of my own. That was a jerk move, fully within the rules, but basically it meant I wasn't really giving them a fair chance in the game. If my opponent from that day reads this, I'm sorry for the experience in that game.

I no longer do that and I've found I had much more fun when I play. During a game I'm happy to point out and fix mistakes instead of trying to take advantage of them.

As for the changes that CC has done, I've enjoyed the new cards and OTF. A quick seed phase also has helped improve my enjoyment of the game :)

-James M
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By Professor Scott (Mathew McCalpin)
 - Delta Quadrant
 -  
Trailblazer
1E Cardassia Regional Champion 2023
#585413
Short answer: Yes

<rant> 2002 was the sweet spot before I called it quits on Decipher. For reasons I presume I will never know, Decipher in it's infinite wisdom, decided to advertise AGT in all the usual places and anticipation was high in my play group. Sadly, Decipher also decided to sell it in NONE of the usual places. They gave no warning that it was to be sold online only, nor where, nor did they tell there distributors so suddenly the small fortune I had put into this collection was for naught as none of us could get AGT. We were told it was sold out at release and our distributors were told they couldn't get any. Mind you I was buying sets by the case at this time of STCCG, SWCCG, and LofRCCG. Literally ever Trek card except the rarest of the BoG Foils, every SWCCGG card including YJ and a complete player set (4 of every card) of LotRCCG at that time. (Yes, I had Austin Powers too). Anyway we were pissed. I presume folks on Decipher's website were able to find out about Decipher's Treachery but we did not frequent it. Anyway I sat on my cards until about 2008 and then literally dumped everything but the UR which I sold off shortlythere after. Pity as I didn't find out out TrekCC until early 2018. Needless to say, 2002 was a good year, 2003-2018 not so much. I am so thankful to have this community where I can not only play but help continue this great game. </rant>
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By winterflames (Derek Marlar)
 - Delta Quadrant
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#585415
Yes. In 2002, I knew Exactly one person I hadn't personally taught the game. Now that number is higher, but I have the boys and they like Playing with me. I can, homework withstanding, play this game At Any Time!
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Executive Officer
By jadziadax8 (Maggie Geppert)
 - Executive Officer
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2E North American Continental Semi-Finalist 2023
ibbles  Trek Masters Tribbles Champion 2023
2E Deep Space 9 Regional Champion 2023
#585419
Yes!

Background: I was never a high-level player back in the day. I never got the chance to go to Origins, Gencon or DecipherCon when 1E was in its heyday. There was definitely cheese in our local meta, so I did get to experience some of the worst of it (Sheliak/Q, Cytherian Shuffle, Q-Bypass). So, I fell hard for 2E back in 2002. The cost system, streamlined rules, etc., all pulled me in for the next 15 years. I didn't have any intention of ever going back to 1E until I became Vice Chair in 2016. At that point, @sevencrdspud correctly pointed out I needed to be the Vice Chair for all three games. If OTF didn't exist, I would have found it much more difficult to start playing 1E again the next year.

I am absolutely delighted that I can play a much more balanced game in 2022 than 2002. The people in this community are wonderful to play against, and overall I think things are better now than then.
 
By StuartL
 - Alpha Quadrant
 -  
#585425
I think I stopped playing some time just after Voyager was released. This was partly due to having no interest in Voyager (the set and the show), and partly due to other events going on in my life around that time.
I didn't revisit the game until very recently, and I'm enjoying it a lot. :thumbsup:
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By Takket
 - Delta Quadrant
 -  
#585428
Yes.

The experiences I had at the end of the decipher era were just cheese on top of cheese. it didn't require any thought or skill to make a winning deck and creativity got you crushed. today's game is much better.
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By Ausgang (Gerald Sieber)
 - Beta Quadrant
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1E European Continental Quarter-Finalist 2023
#585431
No!

This was the time when I started to buy into the game and fully explored it for the first time, learning all its variety and so on. This was a lot more fun compared to today when all the newer sets offer same-same-but-different while more and more variety gets killed.
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By Enabran
 - Beta Quadrant
 -  
2E Austrian National Second Runner-Up 2022
#585434
I had fun and NPE's in 2002 and before and I still have them now. I cannot say, that it is more fun now than 20 years ago. OTF was mostly a good thing. I like many of the new cards TREKCC created and am thankful of them. What I don't like is the ongoing transformation to 1e 2.0
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By Smiley (Cristoffer Wiker)
 - Gamma Quadrant
 -  
Continuing Committee Member - Retired
#585436
No. Ish..

Back when I had a huge play group with multiple tournaments each week.
This is seen through my need for a game to be More that the parts and mostly about the community. Now the community is small and fractured and lacks cohesion.

Though the game as such had already started to decline into DQ Rare-fest with a side of cheese which made the actually games less fun and pretty uninteresting.
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 - Gamma Quadrant
 -  
Continuing Committee Member - Retired
#585444
Absolutely I am. Imho, Otf is a much more fair game that makes players use skill instead of relying on broke cards and card combinations
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By karnstein
 - Alpha Quadrant
 -  
#585453
Short answer: Maybe not?

I think the Continuing Committee has done an outstanding job, and 2002 happens to one of the best years in ST:CCG for me ever. That makes this a difficult question.

So, here are my thoughts, with some background and ideas for what might make ST:CCG even more fun.

I’m a causal player. I started playing in 1995, and since then I’ve only played in four tournaments: Suden Kapala’s online Coming of Age starter deck tournament last year, the 2013 Omarion Nebula Regional in London, and a Deep Space 9 tournament and an OTSD tournament, both in 1998.

My experience of the game has almost all been at the kitchen table, with family and friends, mostly playing OTSD, often with Starter Deck II and/or Enhanced Premiere added in. (I like OTSD because it works well for casual and new players who don't have decks and because the constraints make the deck building quick, exciting, and surprising.) I think it is unlikely that my participation in tournaments will greatly increase in the future, but who knows.

In terms of the game today, l love OTF. I really appreciate the tools that are now available, such as card search, deck builder, virtual pack creator, and Lackey (even though almost all my games are still physical). I’m really grateful for today’s online community. Also, the CC has created lots of great cards, and the state of the game may never have been better.

Perhaps most of all, I like the starter decks that have been released. They make it easy to introduce new people to the game, or to play with friends who don’t have decks, or to play when I don’t have a deck built. At this point, I’m often playing with friends who are new to the game or infrequent players, or my friends’ younger relatives who have never played, or my sons’ friends, who also have never played. The starter decks got me engaged with the CC and introduced me to the new cards in the expansions.

These days, I have less free time than ever, and if it weren’t for the starter decks, I might not be playing at all. Since the CC stopped creating starter decks with Live Long and Prosper (except 2018’s Coming of Age, updating the starter decks from The Next Generation), I’ve even tried creating my own (e.g., https://www.trekcc.org/1e/decklists/index.p ... 5223caa46a) to fill that need, but my progress has been (and will continue to be) slow.

In contrast, 2002 was the start of the period of my greatest engagement with the game. The classic films are probably my favorite Star Trek content. When The Motion Pictures expansion came out, I started building more decks. I transitioned from casual collector to completist, returning to the previous expansions to acquire all the cards. At that time, my friends and I started our first unofficial league, and, for the next few years, I was playing more than I ever had. We were all casual players, and not competitive or experienced enough to discover most of the cheesy exploits, so we never encountered one- or two-turn wins or most other NPEs.

So, I may not be having as much fun with the game in 2022 as I did in 2002. The CC, however, has done a great job keeping a game I love alive.

Could the CC do anything to make ST:CCG in 2022 as much (or even more) fun as it was in 2002 for me, my friends, and the new players I introduce to the game? One thing that would be great is new starter decks. They would help new players and casual players, like me and the people I play with, get acquainted with the latest expansions. Without new starter decks, I’ve mostly lost connection to the newer expansions.

Also, a replacement for OTSD would also be terrific. I know that would be difficult. At this point, however, OTSD feels really out of date. A way for new and casual players to quickly build and play decks from a set of modern cards would be super useful.

With Second Star to the Right and Paradise Lost out, maybe I’ll eventually build some new decks to recapture the excitement of 2002. But a new sealed deck format and especially new starter decks would make a big difference for me and my tribe.

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