Vulcan

Let's start with the orbital view of Vulcan. 

Over the decades, the appearance of Vulcan has changed. In fact, it does't look the same from one show to the next. Let's go chronologically, shall we:

It starts with Enterprise -- the planet's surface resembles a deserted wasteland from space:

Someone has to feel bad for T'Pol. 

Then CPT Kirk has to do some ritual designed to suppress the Vulcan libido. His first visit is botched because he forgot to bring his antiquated BluRay viewer:

Some special effects, huh?

So upon realizing his mistake he goes back home to Iowa and digs said viewer out of his garage. He immediately returns to find the ritual in full swing in his absence.

OOOoooooo....pretty...

When CPT Picard drops in, he finds a planet with geology similar to Earth. The polar ice caps are nearly identical. It's fascinating.

"Data, is this the right planet?"

And so we're in STO. The planet looks like a craterized moon with bits of water here and there. But it's just a game, right?

Well, there's a bit more to it than that. One side has ALL dirt, while the other side has ALL water:

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My point here is, the orbital view doesn't seem all that critical here. Andoria was done beautifully, but it seems the dev's didn't put as much effort into Vulcan. Nothing actually happens out here at present. So, while annoying and obvious, it isn't all that important.

The system entrance has an orbital platform which is never mentioned or used at any point in game. I guess it's assumed that Federation planets have these huge things to act as relay towers so they can communicate. And there are several mentions of them orbiting Earth in TNG and DS9 (although none are visible in Endgame, but Voyager doesn't count), Even so, these towers are so critical to the Federation I feel they should somehow be incorporated directly rather than being used as scenery.

Enterprise had an episode (I forget which one) where they find this cool-but-conditional automated ship repair facility. For the purpose of the game, perhaps there could be one at Vulcan (minus the kidnapping and killing aliens in stasis part). It wouldn't have to be an exact duplicate -- just a repair station with a dry dock and an automated component would work. We still have the shipyards at Utopia Planecia and Jupiter Station to be considerate of. This would be more like a rest stop -- just a tune up and an oil change while you're in town. Maybe some munchies while you wait.

So something goes wrong (memory core gets hacked, a space microbe attaches itself to the hull and feeds on the metals available, the planetary grid misses a tiny space rock and it destroys something)...the catalyst itself isn't critical. I'm thinking it could be done like the first part of Coliseum, with various consoles to activate and puzzles to solve. The cause itself is a mystery until the end when conclusions can be drawn. Was it sabotage? No, it was just a bloody space rock! I would lean away from having enemies there to kill, unless they're deranged Trellium-D addicted zombie Vulcans. Okay, that seriously would NOT work here. It would be much more Trek if there was a non-violence based mission somewhere in the universe. And Vulcan seems the perfect place for it.

This could be a chain of mini-missions, or just 2 or 3 optional extras. There is a random diplomacy mission in the Bajor system that isn't spoken of, nor does it unlock anything. This could be one such mission. You come to Vulcan for something else, check in with the relay/repair station prior to beaming down, and they say something's wrong. If you accept the mission, it begins like any other. If you decline, nothing happens and they say they can handle it. This would be a nice repeatable for expertise.

So now we're on to the ground.

There's only one mission on Vulcan that isn't related to the PVE content (and only one that is). You have to run around talking to people. And finding them in random ass places that make NO logical sense. Really. After that, there's no real reason to come back to Vulcan. So I'm going to skip that part and get to the planet and its map.

The beam down point appears to be a temple complex. Vulcans are known for their temples, after all.

Looks sacred, don't it?

Walking down the stairs a bit -- more temple looking stuff

Eventually there are buildings and statues and such, but none of it serves much of a purpose outside of the fountain. It's the landmark mentioned in the mission where the Romulan guy is standing.

Looks like they stole water from Disneyland.

The buildings are just structures. This one could have been a home or a meeting place of some sort. It could also have been a place for an NPC to hang out waiting for you to come up and initiate a mission.

Nice place ya got there.

 Unfortunately, the door is only ornamental and can not be activated in any way.

It's a Vulcan Keep-Out House

As for the rest of the map, It looks pretty standard. It's a desert, so they based most of it on the Vasquez Rocks. Ad Nauseum. Have a look.

Remember the rocks from The Arena?

No semi-dead Gorn here.

Generic desert rocks

The city from a distance

The base of the big hill

Halfway up the hill

It's all very predictable and boring until this point. We're at the place where Spock has his Pon Farr. This ritual fighting ground could be used SO much more effectively. How about a mini-game where we learn Suss Mahna (in our terms, it would be melee combos involving lirpas)? Or we fight the koon-ut-kal-if-fee? Or some damned thing. This platform, as it is now, only exists for show. There are are no lirpas around, ornamental or otherwise.

And at the top of the platform (behind the ritual area) is the entrance to -- something. Okay, really nothing. It's a Vulcan temple that we don't have access to.

 See -- no access. Not even a monk there to say humans aren't allowed. You'd think they'd be eager to tell what we can and can't do on their planet. It also isn't logical to refuse to say what is inside, even without access. These Vulcans may or may not be monks, but they certainly look like they're standing guard. I'd like to know -- over what? Why? And is there a potential mission hidden here?

See -- more guards. And no interactive Vulcans in sight. I'm starting to think maybe they could make this into a library of ancient scriptures. You know, the sort of stuff that takes decades to decipher and there's too much of it to get to all at once? Well, maybe stone tablets and such. We have a few others in game, as well as in DS9.

The mission could then be to find the right tablet (or scroll, or whatever). Maybe a few relics would have the answers but they're hidden around the map? I remember there being an entire cellar full of sacred relics somewhere on the planet. It would make sense if we had a mission where a monk needs help going through the massive volume of treasures to find a few specific pieces to complete a text or prove a point. Vulcans can be arrogant, hard-headed bastards. Maybe the issue could be that two researchers disagree on certain events for lack of information. They have two different interpretations and don't see eye to eye. Then we come in and gather the info needed to prove the quest giver right.

Then I came across this odd rock formation. It looks like it was supposed to be the entrance to something. Given that there are vast networks of caves on the surface of Vulcan, it comes as no surprise that there would be a few here. There could be sehlats hiding inside that attack randomly. And there could even be evidence of an unconfirmed underground movement that embraces mind melding. And God forbid -- they could hang a few IDICS around. Not too many, but a few. You know. Because it's VULCAN.

And then there are the random organized meditation groups. These could be monks, or apprentices, or who the hell knows. They're just there. Maybe they're young Vulcans learning how to mind meld. The proper technique does take practice, provided they don't want to cause Pa'Nar Syndrome.

Upon seeing their formation, I wondered if these were Vulcans undergoing the ritual of Kolinahr. They were out in the desert lost in their own world, presumably in some altered mind state. This wouldn't make a huge difference to gameplay overall. But some mention of Vulcan ritual and spirituality would add a lot to the immersion factor.

So the last thing I want to point out is this group of Vulcans. They all appear to be talking about something, but there's no interacting with them. A cutscene of their conversation would make a perfect intro to a mission start. They could be discussing the research I mentioned above, or some missing artifact, or any number of other things. Maybe someone is lost in the desert and isn't doing Kolinahr and the mission is to find them.

Or even better -- how about using one of the famous Vulcan temples for a non-story mission? We could examine the ruins of P'Jem (the one Shran destroyed) on that unnamed planet (and possibly even the ruins of the listening post they hid there).

Let's not forget the one where the Kir'shara was found, given that it was actually ON Vulcan. The bodies of the ancient Vulcans could be hiding something. Maybe a new corpse is hidden among the old ones? Or there's a crypt that appears to have been looted long ago, but is actually hiding something sinister?

And what of the Kir'shara itself? Shouldn't it be on display in its own temple somewhere? Or how about making it the centerpiece of a museum of Vulcan history, with a mission that involves investigating certain artifacts?

And here's an idea for an arc.

Okay, we all know Enterprise had a million opportunities to be something, only to piss them all away. Let's not go there. Remember instead that T'Pol was a drug addict. This was the first time Trek actually *almost* dealt with the issue first hand (rather than second hand, like in TOS and TNG). While my personal feeling is that it would have made a lot more sense if a human was an addict, the Vulcan thing opens the door to other exploration of the species. For one thing, T'Pol would have to completely relearn how to suppress her emotions. This is wonderful for us, as all we know about is that the training starts in early childhood and ends with Kolinahr. We could potentially see the middle part, and add some purpose to the temples Vulcan is so famous for. You know, aside from killing random Klingons and bloodshed in sacred places and whatnot.

 I came up with this chain of potential missions.

• There's a Vulcan medic (doctor, scientist, something similar) who discovers that one of his patients is addicted to (*add substance here*). Trellium-D (or beetle snuff or Ketracel White) could work here, but really any fictional substance could serve the game's purpose.
• You have to help him find a treatment. The treatment would consist of gathering materials (including the substance in question) to keep the patient stable.
• Upon gathering the materials, a lab would be used to test biochemical reactions to the compound (much like the one on Deep Space K-7).
• Since the damage is permanent (thus incurable), you would have to take the patient to different temples around the planet for different rituals. What they consist of and how the player interacts would largely depend on the devs. I would say simply escorting the patient to and from each temple would suffice. Maybe some simple interactions would be more emmersive, like lighting candles or preparing meditation rooms for use.
• Each temple or ritual would show a different level of practice, or a different method of emotional suppression.
• I also had the thought that part of the journey could involve a valley, a dust storm, and sehlats. Maybe one of those "you have to protect him from the beasts to get to the temple" kinda deals.

The end would be something like, "thank you for your help," and a unique item. I'm thinking an IDIC medallion costume piece would do nicely. The idea here is to make a random optional chain mission. I don't know about you, but I think seeing all these places in game would make it worthwhile. It's a lot of running around for cut scenes (of talking to monks and whatnot), but it's better than running around looking for ass random monks in one tiny area of a quad that serves no other purpose.

Random afterthoughts

Given the lack of interiors on Vulcan, I'm thinking it would be nice if we could see the ShiKahr Academy. Or better -- how about the Vulcan Science Academy? You know -- that place whose council members pissed off Spock in the reboot? Its purpose could be simple -- DOff science missions relating to the planet, BOff training in less common skills, or something similar. A few random cutscenes would be nice just to introduce the place and whatnot. I dunno...just hit me suddenly.

Andoria

The first time we get to see Andoria is in Enterprise.

...And I'll admit that the original developers who designed this planet weren't far off.

Sadly, the moon itself is little more than pretty to look at. Take a look at these landscape shots I took.

The beam-in point is filled with Andorians stretching and looking like they're about to start fighting. There are park rangers, literally everywhere, warning of Ushaan, and how anyone can be challenged to one:

There are even vendors set up to sell battle-related items (many of which have blue icons, presumably in honor of the Andorians' blue blood):

It even goes so far as to have a commodity broker there for some reason:

What I'm not getting, though, is that all this buildup leads to nothing. There is NO Ushaan anywhere. There are circles of Andorians cheering, but nothing going on inside. It's usually 2 competitors standing there looking at each other. There is no way to interact with them, nor can they be engaged in battle. The UI shows that they have one another in their focus, but without explanation. None of these combatants are tethered together, nor do they have the hand armor that accompanies the tether:

The circle, with both fighters standing perpetually idle

There's no response to my approach

Other times, the circles are empty entirely, making me wonder what the hell everyone is cheering about:

They have GOT to hook me up with whatever they're smoking.

When I enter the circle, thinking I'm just inviting some random Blue Guy to come over and kill me for violating his sacred space (something about not preforming the Right of Substitution), nothing happens:

It's like I'm not even really here.

And what of the caves? Supposedly Andoria was filled with them, right? And they were filled with twists and turns and ice bores and icicles that can penetrate even the Bluest of bones:

Shran in one of those icy corridors

Details of the ice caves

Ice Bores

They're supposed to go on forever

Icicles can cause near-critical injuries, in Star Trek and in real life.

In game, however, the only cave we get is one that is not explorable. There are a few vendors (all with the same loot listed above) and a commodity broker (which really doesn't belong on a battle ground), but nothing else:

Cave entrance

Map of cave innards -- no tunnels or cave worms in sight.

Cave exit

And a map of the planet shows a different concern:

Notice how there are NO buildings. Yes, they say this is a public park, and it's cordoned off for Ushaan. But come on--NO buildings anywhere? No memorial to those who died there (who may not necessarily be honored warriors)? No wall of plaques with the names of people who earned their Ushaan? What about an area where potential fighters can buy ice picks, ritual tethers and ushaan-tors? The closest thing they have is this half-assed rest area. There are bound to be others around, but this is the only one I came across:

It actually makes me think of the ones on New Romulus, minus the transporter pads.

So what can be done to fix this place?

Well, first and foremost, it seems like it was never actually finished. I get the feeling this was supposed to be a mini-game of some sort. Maybe a bonus fight? 

I think there could be some nifty rewards from mini-combat type events. Take these arguing Andorians, for instance:

They could potentially be the trigger for the Ushaan mission. Think about it -- you go to Andoria and find these guys bickering about nothing important to you. It turns out that there was supposed to be a substitution but the other guy backed out (or was killed, or some other cop out). One of the guys asks you if you would do it in his place. Answering "No" declines the mission. Answering "Yes" starts it. 

Upon starting the mission, you have to get the instruments of the challenge -- the Ushaan-tor and the armored tether. These can be found, earned or crafted. Any of these methods would work, as they would incorporate some of the park rangers spread around.

Upon assembling the necessary gear, you have to fight the guy from before. I would make it a rez-until-he-dies deal. This could either left as is (one-time mission), or used to start as a chain of mini-missions. 

Upon completing this mission, the battleground becomes a mini game to fight and win something like consumable purple Andorian ale with a cold resist and knockback bonus. Maybe even a personal Ushaan-tor that can be used as a cosmetic weapon much as the Ferengi Energy Whip is.

In the case of the mini-mission chain, I would do it similarly to this:

• Once the initial battle is won, the other guy (who you were subbing for) tells you he was a great warrior and you have to take his blood to the Wall of Heroes. 
• Upon placing the vial into the wall, someone there asks if you can find them some ice bores. The would just be a typical gather mission set in a cave. Once you have all the ice bores, you give them back and get a reward. This could be made into a repeatable mission for expertise and energy credits.
• Another person could share a rumor about the so-called "Aenars," who have never been proven to exist, and they send you on a mission to find that proof. It could also be designed as a first contact type mission where you have to make friendly contact with the Aenars. Of course, one of the rewards would be diplomacy.

Part of me finds it odd that it's implied that the Ushaan can be done at random. I was under the impression that it is a challenge designed to settle scores, and to honor the dead. It has a certain Klingon quality to it, but it doesn't strike me as arbitrary. With that in mind, I think these missions should involve the player actually settling a dispute with, or between, Andorians. When the dialog boxes say anyone can fight, it should specify anyone actually involved in the Right can use the grounds. The Ushaan is not done on a whim, like Klingons settling scores with their bat'leths. It's an ancient Andorian tradition, and this battleground really doesn't treat it like one.

*It has also been mentioned that this would make a great ground PvP map. I would agree with this, so long as the main map is still accessible without PvP as a requirement. This is a canon planet -- we should be able to visit (semi) peacefully.

Another worth mentioning tidbit is Q's Winter Wonderland.The weather and layout are basically the same as Andoria, after all. But, not to be a killjoy, I just don't like the idea. The last Wonderland had gingerbread houses and people and whatnot...putting that stuff here would be an insult. Even the Epohh dealer wouldn't fit, as Epohhs themselves are primarily associated with New Romulus.*

Random afterthoughts

It would be nice if one of the buildings whose non-existence I complained about was the Andorian Academy. I really don't know what purpose it would serve, outside of looking cool. Maybe DOff missions? Still would be nice.

What if we had a consumable weapon -- one made of ice that melts upon use? It would be bound to character, of course. Used only on this planet...worth taking a look at.