STAGE 01 // MISSION BRIEFING
Your Orders, Designer
Stardate 2025.4 — You have been deployed.
The STFC Web Store offers players bonus rewards like Multiphasic Credits when purchasing outside the app. It should be a powerful revenue channel. Instead, it's broken.
Players can't find what they need. Bundles are buried. Purchases are being abandoned. You have been assigned to fix it.
0Month Mission
0Survey Responses
0Player Interviews
0Design Solutions
STAGE 02 // INTELLIGENCE SCAN
Scanning the Sector
4 signal sources detected. Analyzing transmissions...
REDDIT SIGNAL
"Web store is hard to navigate" — recurring unprompted complaint across r/startrekfleetcommand.
APP STORE SIGNAL
Players leaving 1–2 star reviews citing confusion and inability to find bundles. Google Play echoes the same.
OFFICIAL RESEARCH DECK
Scopely's own UX team confirmed: absence of filters is the #1 complaint. Data validated the hypothesis.
COMPETITIVE INTEL
Marvel Strike Force & Clash of Clans use category tabs, milestone rewards, and progress mechanics to drive engagement.
STAGE 03 // FIELD RESEARCH
Dispatches from the Field
60 responses. 9 interviews. Discord. Direct contact.
SURVEY ANALYSIS // 60 RESPONSES INCOMING TRANSMISSIONS // PLAYER QUOTES"I wish there was just a search bar, it's 2025!"
"On my phone, I just give up scrolling sometimes."
"I wanted to buy something but couldn't find it — so I just didn't."
CLASSIFIED FINDINGS
01
SEARCH LIMITATIONS
Players resort to Ctrl+F on desktop. No search bar. No filters. Mobile users have zero workaround — they simply give up.
02
BUNDLE OVERLOAD
Too many similar-looking bundles, vague names, contents hidden behind a click. Browsing becomes exhausting fast.
03
NAVIGATION FRICTION
Switching from the game to the web store already takes effort. Any added friction — bugs, slow loads — kills the motivation.
STAGE 04 // MISSION ANALYSIS
Crew Dossier & Threat Assessment
Defining the target user. Mapping the battlefield.
PRIMARY PERSONA // CREW DOSSIER
CREW FILE // ACTIVE PLAYER
Alex
ROLE
Regular STFC Player
PLATFORM
Mobile (primary)
SPENDING
Mid-tier, value-focused
GOAL
Find the right bundle fast. Buy with confidence.
CORE FRUSTRATION
Endless scrolling. Hidden bundle contents. No way to compare. Gives up and buys in-app instead.
Curious
Hears about web store bonus rewards
Neutral
Opens web store on mobile
Confused
Starts scrolling through bundles
Frustrated
Can't find it. Tries Ctrl+F.
🔴 RED ALERT
Defeated
Gives up. Buys in-app instead.
How might we help STFC players find and compare bundles more easily in the web store, so they feel confident and efficient when buying?
STAGE 05 // ENGINEERING BAY
Designing the Solution
Three blueprints approved by Starfleet Command.
BLUEPRINT 01
Smarter Bundle Cards
APPROVED ✓
PROBLEM
Players had to click into every bundle to see contents. Slow, tedious, killed purchase momentum.
SOLUTION
Key contents visible at a glance — zero extra clicks needed.
// ANNOTATION 01
VALUE TIER VISIBLE
Bundle positioning shown upfront with the "Mega Value" banner — no digging needed.
// ANNOTATION 02
CONTENTS UNFURLED
Resources, credits, ship parts — every item listed directly on the card.
// ANNOTATION 03
DECISION IN SECONDS
Clear price + compare built in. Players decide without opening a single thing.
BLUEPRINT 02
Search & Filter System
APPROVED ✓
PROBLEM
No search. No filters. Players scrolled endlessly on mobile or used Ctrl+F as a desktop workaround. Completely untenable.
SOLUTION
Search bar with real-time suggestions + filters by category — ships, resources, upgrades. Find anything in seconds.
// ANNOTATION 01
// ANNOTATION 02
// ANNOTATION 03
BLUEPRINT 03
Bundle Comparison Feature
APPROVED ✓
PROBLEM
Players couldn't compare similar bundles. They'd ask alliance members for advice or open multiple tabs just to decide.
SOLUTION
Compare CTA on each bundle card. Side-by-side view with visual indicators showing which bundle offers more value.
// ANNOTATION 01
HEAD-TO-HEAD SETUP
Two bundles, same price — placed side by side. The framing turns comparison into a visual scan, not a mental exercise.
// ANNOTATION 02
UNIFIED CONTENTS TABLE
Every contained item in a single rhythmic readout — same row, same item, both quantities. No tab-switching, no scroll-jumping.
// ANNOTATION 03
WINNER INDICATORS
Green ↑ arrows mark the side with more on each row. Players scan the column to count wins — the decision becomes instant.
STAGE 06 // FIELD TEST
Running Simulations
2 crew members. Mid-fidelity prototype. Real feedback.
CREW MEMBER 01 // REGULAR SPENDER
"Loved seeing all bundle items upfront — no need to click and scroll."
✅ VERDICT: PASSED
CREW MEMBER 02 // OCCASIONAL BUYER
"Comparing two bundles side by side helped me choose quickly."
✅ VERDICT: PASSED
🔧 LOGGED FOR NEXT ITERATION
REFINEMENT REQUIRED
More flexible filters needed — by item type, resource, price, and bundle category. Personalization increases discovery precision.
STAGE 07 // MISSION DEBRIEF
Returning to Starbase
Mission concluded. Logging findings for the record.
CAPTAIN'S LOG // LESSONS LEARNED01
Players value search and filters above all else. Their absence isn't a minor gap — it's a conversion killer that drives people away.
02
Even small friction — an extra scroll, hidden bundle details — is enough to abandon a purchase. Every unnecessary click costs trust.
03
Mobile-first isn't optional. Most players browse on their phones. A layout that fails on small screens fails the majority of users.
Players found bundles significantly faster
Purchase confidence increased markedly
Browsing friction dramatically reduced
Abandoned purchases decreased
"A UX designer who had worked on the actual Star Trek Fleet Command feature reviewed this project — and confirmed the design decisions aligned directly with what the real team created. The approach was validated by the people who built it."
⭐
MISSION ACCOMPLISHED
Starfleet thanks you, Designer. The Web Store will never be the same.
