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City of Hero fans, talk to me...
DabOnThem
Member UncommonPosts: 141
What about Champions Online, Marvel Omega and DC Universe Online? Why do former City of Hero players tend to pass on these games, still hoping for that decent comic mmo? Why are you looking over these games hoping Ship of Heroes or City titans can fill your void? I want to know what went wrong with the current games in your opinion? Or past game in the case of Gazillion's mmo.
Comments
I self identify as a monkey.
DCUO I enjoyed the combat, I liked the story, but they ended up screwing everything up soon after with gear score, gating too much content, and they finally kind of fixed that a little bit, but now it kind of feels dated. The combat is still pretty fun, but the world is boring now, I don't feel like there's much lasting appeal.
I was a huge Marvel Heroes Omega player on Console. Somewhat notable even, but hey, mismanagement shut them down, and Gazillion as a whole seemed to be a giant chicken with no head. Instead of just being truthful with the community, they tried to hide every move they made, and it turned on them in the form of bad publicity and losing a lot of players.
Ship of Heroes at this point feels like they're trying to recreate CoX (which I played for several years) and while CoH was the first MMO that I spent multiple years in, I stopped logging in because it felt like the game ran its course. I feel like what SoH is doing at this point is kind of creating almost an emu server, but from scratch, and at this time, it appeals very little to me.
City of Titans is another spiritual successor, but their design appears to be more technologically forward, and UE4 is a good engine in general, even basic UE4 models can look and move pretty good. Their character creator video they put out recently is completely different than what we've seen in the character creator space for other MMOs in terms of customization, at least to my recollection, so if they are a "spiritual successor" they are at least one that plans to move CoX a step forward instead of just recreating what it once was.
Valiance Online seems like it's at least more fleshed out in terms of classes at the moment. Out of all of them, their site has the most information, and they are currently in a somewhat persistent alpha. They feel closer to what SoH is putting out, but their team seems less interested in pushing boundaries with development. I'm very interested to learn more of what they have planned.
There's no specific void for CoH for me. I love super hero games of all kinds, looking forward and already preordered the spiderman game and hoping SE Avengers game gets some info soon. I just want a good game, and while I don't care what studio it comes from, I want something worth my time... and I don't know yet if what's planned will be good enough yet.
DC Universe does have a good player base(on PS4 atleast) but they keep adding new gear slots or systems to sell you on the subscription or cash shop or both. And it doesnt matter how poorly thought out and or implemented these are they will keep them going with no concern for iteration to keep that cash shop rolling. The game play is good but they tie end game progression to achievements, which is one of the dumbest things I have ever seen. The Stats Revamped update was the game's last chance for me and it was a bomb. A good idea but just absolutely terrible in every way.
Marvel Heroes Omega is dead.
So, why do people pass on these games? Because they suck.
I miss CoH/CoV, but there are enough good games out there that i don't feel the need to waste time on games that aren't really worth it, i don't really have any faith in any product that Marvel can put out at this point, in much the same way that i am not holding my breath on Disney making a half decent Starwars Movie, they have proved they can't.
Think about quite often how not having a variety of Marvel & DC multiplayer online games is such a waste of those IP's.
Not really looking forward to any of those 3 upcoming indie games but will probably try them when/if they release.
Just to add a different voice for the fun's sake (
Both were great, with pros and cons on different areas. For me CO is better with character building (both cosmetically and the powers with Freeform), the cel-shade looks great, zone size and exploration, better and more fun travel powers, more focus on the story, and a step closed to the regular MMO gameplay which was convenient.
CoH on the other hand was a bit more unique which was fun, had a more flexible sidekick mechanic, had day jobs, great villain archetypes, more detailed crafting, and of course the biggest advantage over CO, the Architect.
(I still to this day find it stupid that they haven't put Foundry in CO...)
I guess that is what OP seeks with
They pass because of CO is quite different from CoH, and some changes simply don't go well with CoH players. Maybe the change I've heard mentioning the most was the step towards the regular themepark formulae. When it switched to f2p and I tried to invite over a few friends for trying it out (CoH was still a sub game by that time, it switched to Freedom several months later), and one of them said it's like a superhero wow clone
The other often missed feature is the lack of CoV, that you can't play a villain. At least with CO, in DCUO there's a villain side, but it has other issues, for a start it is an action game, with more pvp and much less customization compared to CoH. While CO is from the same team and at least in parts feels familiar for a CoH player, DCUO is a totally different game.
edit: so much for the attempt to add the different voice, weasel posted inbetween
CO does have a better costume creator. DCUO has way better graphics, and while the combat system is more a preference thing, DCUO is the only superhero game where PvP isn't a complete and horrible mess. There's at least some semblance of balance, and no other hero game comes even remotely close in that regard.
DCUO also had way better storylines.
CoX did create some really great experiences. The class system was generally better.
Nostalgia is a big part of it, I mean we're looking back on a game from a decade and a half ago, one that struggled to keep up with content and updates even then. It's like wanting to bring back vanguard and SWG, they were great games, but even games people consider "terrible" these days still do several things better than those old ones.
Never played CoH, therefore I cannot be stuck on something I never experienced. Was asking the players that did, what made it so special to them.
The reason City of X rules for me is the abilities that enabled you to do missions with a variety of abilities that can be mixed and matched so that you can experience the same mission but with different tactics. I never found that in CO. It was poor attempt and I was underwhelmed when I tried it. Parties were nothing like the variety of abilities City of X brought to the table.
I truly miss City of Heroes and Villains.
that feeling of elation when you jumped into a huge packs of monsters and blew them up to pieces with your aoes is something i haven't found in any other game so far (except maybe in marvel heroes but the isometric view didn't give you that feeling of being a 'hero').
or maybe it's nostalgia talking. all i know is that, if ship of heroes can recreate that type of combat, i'll play the hell out of it.
I had high hopes when DCUO was announced. Man, my mind was swirling with thoughts. I prematurely applied everything from CO, and believed it would carry over to DCUO at some point.
DCUO is very hollow. The IP is the only thing saving the game. Compared to CO, the game is a poor man's superhero mmo. Every aspect of the avatar is centered around a few characters from the DC IP, meaning no character was original. Only a thousand variations of Batman and Superman running around.
It simply comes from their times, CoH was one of the last games from the "pre-wow" era (that's why it had unique features, like several games from those years), while CO was developed on the waves of wow-mania, when Marvel wanted to step in and grab a slice of the MMO market cake, and Cryptic wanted to enhance CoH while they're at it.
That's why the much wider and more open character building, the large zones (compared to the squares the previous engine could handle) - but also the more straightforward leveling path, the story-focused questing, the different (closer to the now-regular) gearing, etc.
I wouldn't go as far as SWG and SW:TOR, but it was noticeably different, and since CoH was still there, those who preferred that gameplay and setup more, stayed there.
(I liked the theory-crafting, also it was new and uncharted, and I'm a hopper...
- A super hero game (MMO or otherwise) is not the same as every other super hero game made. It's just personal preferences. For me, CoH hit that sweet spot that none of the others come even close to.
Champions Online suffers the same setback for me as D&D Online does: I played the tabletop games and these play nothing like them. Just a case of my own expectations being impossibly high. When I tried CO, it just never grabbed me as CoH did.
I find I have no interest in DCUO. I've seen videos and read reviews. Nothing about it has me wanting to play it. the same with other super hero MMOs.
I backed City of Titans on Kickstarter, and am not even sure if I'll ever play it, even if they release a fully functional game. "Spiritual Successors" rarely fill the shoes of what they're trying to recreate. What I found fun in CoH most likely is not what others saw as the main component.
No game will ever be "City of Heroes 2", no matter how hard anyone tries. CoH is gone. A fond memory, but gone. Personally, I'm not looking to find it again. Too much has changed to ever find that experience again.
- Al
Personally the only modern MMORPG trend that annoys me is the idea that MMOs need to be designed in a way to attract people who don't actually like MMOs. Which to me makes about as much sense as someone trying to figure out a way to get vegetarians to eat at their steakhouse.- FARGIN_WAR
My reasons, and experiences, are rather simple. I never played those other games because I knew what they would and would not do for me.
Champions Online had an art-style that I loathed. I didn't care what it played like. If I didn't like looking at it there was no way I could force myself to play it for very long so it was pointless to try.
As for DC and Marvel, let me say this first. - In a recent conversation with coworkers one of them asked me who my favorite superhero was. Although I have a decent number of superhero movies on home video I still had to think about it for a few seconds before I finally answered. I could really only answer with "The heroes I created in CoH. Those were my favorites because I created and played with them as I wanted to." DCUO and Marvel Omega didn't offer either the character creator or the ability to play a created character with the freedom I wanted, so again it was pointless to bother with.
CoH simply provided just what I wanted. Though it may not have lived up to the standards of so many gamers who's expectations are incredibly high, it gave me the experience I enjoyed with mechanics that worked.
Anything else I could say would just be trivial at this point.
I've got a feevah, and the only prescription... is more cowbell.
CO had the background I was familiar with, and a little better character builder than CoH, but wandered a bit far from the tropes of the genre, especially with their drops and equipment building. Also, the Cryptic team was just not as good as the design crew that stayed with CoH. The CoH crew pushed out three updates a year, even during the dark times when they only had a twelve person team. CO languished.
I obviously enjoyed CoH more, was subbed for most of its existence, and had 40+ alts at the cap. The playerbase was really great. When someone was having problem with a mission or boss, they'd shout out, and would soon have a full team willing to help out. In the spirit of the comics.
If you are holding out for the perfect game, the only game you play will be the waiting one.
E: 86% S: 53% A: 40% K: 20%
I tried DCUO and didn't like it from the start. I also felt that it was going to go shut down like a lot of other SOE games did at the time. Frankly impressed it's still going.
I never liked the cel-shading in CO, but it wasn't a game breaker. If anything I find myself thinking, I wish this feature was more like CoX or that feature. The world annoys me at times. I find Foxbat an annoying character. I'm also disappointed the rival system didn't become something more. Although if I'm being honest also thankful. Coming up with names and costumes for so many characters can be tough.
None of my friends stayed around for CO, despite all coming from CoX. Although having a small community, the players in CO are really decent. I have to credit them with that.
At the end of the day, when i compare the two games. I enjoyed myself more in CoX. And it wasn't just because my friends played. I solo'd a lot of CoV, and still enjoyed that experience more than soloing in CO.
I'm keeping an eye on the upcoming superhero games. But I'm not hyping myself for them. I'll likely try them. We'll see how they are.
You could choose your own appearance using a character creatror that was second to none.
You could mix and match power sets to make any number of non-traditional attack, defense and support characters.
It was not a loot or level oriented game. Sure there was loot, but it was not the sort that made people obsessive.
There was no need at all to rush to max level.
It was an alt lovers paradise. Many people spent their time making one cool character after another. Your imagination was really the only limit.
The stories were a lot of fun and they were populated with creative enemies, my favorite being the Carnival of Shadows (think evil clowns and circus types).
Best of all, the community was amazing. People talked to one another. They were friendly. Every character was an act of self expresion and people loved to chat about all their different looks. Grouping up was easy and I don't ever remember anyone being kicked or passed over if there was an opening.
There was a mentor system that allowed higher and lower level peeps to group together.
Those are some of the hings people miss about CoH/CoV.
EQ1, EQ2, SWG, SWTOR, GW, GW2 CoH, CoV, FFXI, WoW, CO, War,TSW and a slew of free trials and beta tests
Can someone put this super-villain in prison for me, my cape is in the wash.
You are talking about this being about nostalgia yet the games you compare CoX to are not exactly shiny and new. Release dates being CoX 2004, CO 2009 and DCUO 20011. I would think people would be nostalgic about the other two as well, but that's not a factor?
The bottom line was that it was made for a specific niche of the MMO market. It filled that niche well, and the month before it closed it still had 100k+ subs. But it was not a perfect game. Even the people loyal to it wished some things could have been different.
It had a lot of great things, and a lot of bad things; 6000+ missions and several hundred mission arcs, some of which were wildly fun - but not all of them were great fun. Well over a dozen task forces, some of which were very entertaining, and others were ridiculously tedious. Some villain groups that were excellent challenges, and others that you despised running into. Epic ATs that were fun, but not all that epic.
And of course the one thing that everyone hated - the random mission generator.
But the game was fun. You could make so many ATs that were strikingly different, but still very effective. DCUO suffers in that category. You have to build your character in a very specific manner if you want to make it effective, mainly because the game is gear intensive and your power choices are quite limited. CO is in-between these two games. Marvel Heroes was a good game that got boring way too quickly. And it was the fault of the basic premise of the game. A more wide open game using the Marvel Universe and allowing players to make their own characters and choices would have made a game that put all of these other choices 6 feet under.
I loved CoH, and was quite loyal to it. But it was easy for me to see that it's appeal was not universal. It is too bad that the game was owned by a huge company with some of the largest MMORPGs in the world. They really did not understand how to run a niche product in a western market.
The world is going to the dogs, which is just how I planned it!