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City of Heroes: Issue 13 Changes Interview
Stradden
Managing EditorMember CommonPosts: 6,696
Today, we learned that Issue 13: Architect had been re-named Issue 13: Power and Responsibility due to the fact that the much anticipated Mission Architect system had to be pushed back to Issue 14 and has been replaced by a number of new features. In this interview, Brian Clayton (Executive Producer) and Matt Miller (Lead Designer) answer a few of our questions.
MMORPG.com:
Are you at all concerned that making an announcement of this magnitude this late in the game is going to turn off some players in this time when developer transparency is so important to players?
Brian Clayton:
I expect that adding more features to Issue 13 and releasing it earlier than anticipated will be well received by our player base. With Issue 14’s focus now on our Mission Architect system, we’re able to introduce a more full-featured experience and better accommodate player feedback for this ground-breaking mechanic.
Read the interview here.
Cheers,
Jon Wood
Managing Editor
MMORPG.com
Comments
Got the paid (paid) booster pack out!
It seems like they are hinging the future of this franchise on MA, which has the potential to completely blow up in their faces. It is the right decision to delay but I find it more disturbing that they thought they could release a system with little customization. Considering they allow massive amounts of creativity with the costume creator and even the base builder putting out a system with so little creative tools would have been an abysmal failure. Kudos to them for pulling it back.
You still have the same basic problems with the game in general, REPETITIVE. Build a tool that only allows people to create there own repetitive missions. That is a formula for success? When I say repetitive, I am talking both the overused tile sets/maps and limited trigger or mission objectives. Please don't get me wrong, custom NPC's will help IF they do it right which means you can build the NPC's from the existing costume creator and NOT some washed down "color the existing NPC" system. Players should be able to not only design an entire faction with bosses, LT's and minions but share there creations with other mission builders. A true map editor had better be shortly behind I14 if not included or I fear the "arena" effect, hardly used and dev neglected because of the player interest.
They just took the most "meh" feature of I13, Day Jobs, brought it out as the staple of the issue. In addition, they talk about "balancing" which many will take as code for "nerf" and called it a "FEATURE", lol. I don't know who does the marketing over at NCSoft but they really should be shot.
Regardless I hope this gamble pays off or Posi might be calling his old buddy Statesman for a job!
"....new powersets, Merit rewards..."
What new powersets ?Just the shield and Pain ones theyve been talking about, or something better ?
Shield and Pain Domination. Two sets. 2=plural. Thus, "new powersets."
Sadly, Castle has also stated no new power proliferation in i14, either. Major disappointment all around.
The mission architecht is the one feature that would get me to purchase this game, I liked the trial alright but not enough to buy. I hope they do take their time, do it right, and keep it supported. I'll be keeping an eye on this one.
my sketchbook
Let's hope this is the truth:
"Matt Miller:
Our powers team is only rebalancing the most over-powered powers and these balance changes only take effect in PvP enabled zones. These changes will not affect the PvE gameplay experience in any way."
Off line levelling?
You don't even have to play now to progress?
Whats wrong with just having an alt you play with your slow levelling friend? It's what me and my friends have always done.
Honestly, this is so f*ked up. Another nail in the MMORPG genre for anyone who cares about challenging and rewarding gaming.
All I can feel for this 'feature' is... well... disgust. I would personally be embarresed to gain levels while I slept....
this hobby is going right down the sh*tter, and the sad thing is that the new generation of players don't even know what they have lost because they never experienced it, so they just eat it up like chicks waiting for mommy sparrow to come home.
Shame on you CoX.
...
You don't like it? Don't use it.
Or does it just bother you because other people may be playing differently?
I think its a fantastic idea. I detest the masochistic side of MMORPGs.
Honestly, I am happy with what they are giving us now. The new shield powerset sounds amazing.
If they need more time to make the architect system better for the players, be my guest.. I want this to be the best it can, no matter how long it takes.
CoX is amazing!
[Edit]
And yeah.. People like to play differently. I find the "sidekick leveling" system pretty cool.
So if your friend would like to play this new character he has made then he wont have to feel bad about leaving you behind.
Great idea! :]
My friends and I have this problem all the time :P
~wooh~
The sidekick option already addressed that problem. This offline leveling will just be ripe for exploiting.
Gold/powerleveling sellers are cheering over this
Ha! People will always find a way to power level and now that your friends will be able do it for free there will be less incentive to hire some stranger to do it for you. Overall this patch looks like a good one with some much needed changes.
This will fail and be mocked. A patch so you gain XP without even playing? That's lame. That's the whole damn point of a MMO. It's a time sink for when you don't have anything else to do. So basically players are paying NCSoft to play the game for them now? Retarded. This game will epic fail tank when something like Champs Online comes out or DC Online. CoH is like an old man trying to act young again. Just give up and die already. DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE.
Never ceases to amaze me how NCSoft gives players something they ask for... and people still whine about it.
The Day Job feature will be a nice addition, especially to those who are into roleplaying. For a few extra minutes of effort of logging out there instead of here, I can earn a badge with a buff. The new xp system actively discourages powerleveling, why pay for it when just playing with your high level friend does the same thing? Finally new powersets are always welcome, Shields especially as they have been requested for some time now.
Doesn't bother me they pushed the Mission Creator to Q1 2009, since they have more time to polish it and are adding the feature of customized enemies.
The Pact system is designed so that power leveling is not really possible. I've read on their main site that you can only establish the Pact between two new characters, and furthermore you are not generating extra xp, its simply that half of what each character earns goes to the other character. The total xp needed to gain levels has not changed. If one character was not being played, the other would need to earn double to reach 50.
Didn't ask for it. I don't play CoH anymore. It's boring as hell to me. CoH really is far past it's prime and I totally do believe CO will finish it off.
Didn't ask for it. I don't play CoH anymore. It's boring as hell to me. CoH really is far past it's prime and I totally do believe CO will finish it off.
Well didn't ask for what? You were rather vague on what you didn't ask for....
Boring as hell tells me you haven't played in a long time. We got a new roman-themed zone to go along with the Rikti War Zone, days of repetative office/cave/warehouse are long over. They stopped those in umm... early 2005? I think, not sure been a while.
The game is hardly far passed it's prime. Sub numbers are up this year due to the release of issues 9-12. Graphically it is a bit better than in 2004, most noteable with the physics engine and the recent upgrade to Rikti graphics.
Didn't ask for it. I don't play CoH anymore. It's boring as hell to me. CoH really is far past it's prime and I totally do believe CO will finish it off.
Well didn't ask for what? You were rather vague on what you didn't ask for....
Boring as hell tells me you haven't played in a long time. We got a new roman-themed zone to go along with the Rikti War Zone, days of repetative office/cave/warehouse are long over. They stopped those in umm... early 2005? I think, not sure been a while.
The game is hardly far passed it's prime. Sub numbers are up this year due to the release of issues 9-12. Graphically it is a bit better than in 2004, most noteable with the physics engine and the recent upgrade to Rikti graphics.
Uh no that doesn't tell you I haven't played in a long time. I played with the new roman theme. It's lame. It's still a totally repetative game. No they did NOT stop the days of repetative cave/warhouse/office. Thaty is totally still there. It is indeed past it's prime. I did not find it any more fun that when I first played it.
OK despite your objectiion, your comments to me state that you either (1) haven't played in a while or (2) haven't played passed level 20.
The roman theme is lame? Which part? The taskforce is hailed as being the best taskforce ingame. The caves were redesigned to look less like the CoT caves and more like roman ruins. Plus you get to see the new Shield animations at work, preview for the upcoming powerset. Not to mention there are Midnight Squad contacts that give story arcs that do not involve the new roman zones.
Not sure how you get repetative. Unless you are oversimplifying the missions. I mean I could argue that WoW is repetative since it only has 3 types of quests: Kill X mobs, Collect Y items or Kill Boss Z. OMG, that game is repetative! See, what I mean by oversimplifying?
If you don't like cave missions, then don't do them. You could get all the way to 50 without ever stepping foot inside a cave... if that is your choice.
With the addition of the Invention system we have a much asked for crafting system in place. The Rikti still invade from time to time to give you a spontaneous event. Flashback missions allow you to replay any previous mission you enjoyed or any story arc you missed. Newspaper/Police Band allows you to pick mission types that you want to play through. How much more diversity does one want?
The sidekick option already addressed that problem. This offline leveling will just be ripe for exploiting.
Gold/powerleveling sellers are cheering over this
The sidekick option does NOT already address that problem. Yes, you can have your partner sidekick your character if they are outleveling you, but at some point it becomes and exercise in futility. My partner used to play many more hours than I did. His first villain, created over a year after mine, hit 50 long before mine did, simply because I never had the time to play the way he did. Kind of hard to sidekick a, say level 11 with no travel power, to a level 35, doing missions in their level appropriate zones. Ever try to navigate Nerva with no recall friend and no travel powers on the lowbie? Or Grandville? Grandville is sometimes a bit easier because you can 'walk' the lowbie to some missions, but other times it is near impossible to get around, especially if the mentor is fairly low to the zone.
Exploitable? Sure it is. Who cares? What does that hurt you if someone else levels while offline because someone else is playing for them? Not a thing. The only thing that really begins to affect all of us is the annoying PL spammers (and inf spammers). Then we actually have to deal with it in a personal way. How or when someone dings affects no one but themselves.
And then of course there is always the complaint that has been common with PL'd toons: They are 50s and don't know how to play. Truly, I have teamed (especially as an empath) with many of these. Incompetence can come in many forms. If you don't like someone's play style, you now have the personal player note which can track them across characters. It's a great feature for keeping track of those people you don't want to team with ever again.
Me, personally? I'd love to be able to keep up with my partner. We have several pairs of characters and it usually winds up with him NOT playing those characters to try to avoid outleveling mine. This is tougher on him as he only has one account.
The blaster empath duo is the one we have managed to keep right at the same level the entire time. These two were created at the same time, and have always been played together, with the exception of him exemplaring for some TFs to the get badges. (I no longer actively badge as I just simply cannot afford the time sink). Of course, my blaster (a blapper, really) could not survive effectively without the empath. The build is such that I am depend on him, and he depends on me. By design, story and concept.
And really, if you think about this logically, I would venture to say the PL sellers are CRYING, not laughing. Why would I pay someone hard-earned cash if I can easily get a 'powerlevel' simply by using the new feature? I think it will ELIMINATE the need for the PL sellers, not enhance them. After all, either way they would need to access your account, and I am fairly certain they log in several mentor/lowbie combos at the same time. You would still have to have the "mentor" logged in, which would mean they would still need to engage the same process, just with less accounts simultaneously logged. Which, if you have a couple of computers with pretty decent hardware, isn't difficult. I have run four accounts on this computer at the same time before (usually for demo recording, item swappage/storage, etc). I regularly play two at once, and have a few times actually tried to play three at once. (Only 2 monitors, swapping between three is a bit tough).
Denying the legitimate players features because someone *might* exploit it is counter-productive. Really, sidekicking period is exploited every single day. That is the core base of powerleveling. Does that mean it was not a valuable game feature? Nope. Live and let live, I always say. Let them powerlevel. I am not forced to team with them, so what difference does it ultimately make to me? None.
I have to agree with xBlackSabbat - CoX is amazing. I am really pleased with the new game features and will probably be playing this game as long as it exists.
I never cease to be impressed by the simple but clever things that CoH delivers.
Multiple builds and different rule-sets for pvp... if only they'd come up with that one four years ago, they might not have given themselves an rsi swinging the nerf bat every other week.
And I like the sound of the levelling pact. I'm a fairly hard-core player myself, and being able to share some of that xp with friends who can't play so much is something I'd be into.
To the above poster about sidekicking with no travel powers....
They addressed that issue by having the first 2 mayhem/safeguard missions grant a travel temp power. Since the timer on the temp power only decays while in use you can not bother with picking a travel power at 14. Heck my Thug MM didn't actually pick Superjump til the early 30's because of this.