Techbot Alpha
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Posts
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Quote:What he said.Originally Posted by rian_frostdrake
oh, we havent forgotten you my dear, Costume fanatics like myself are still stalking you from the minimum of the police mandated distances..now about going rogue, we are talking metric butt-ton of new costumes, including new monstrous bits... RIGHT??
Da Boss don' wanna be dissapointed in 'choo. Capiche?
Just make the Mutant Pack and GR look good, and we can get on just fine
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Quote:Thats also a PC face. My guess is that they are indeed PC parts. Even if they aren't...DAMN they look tasty!Originally Posted by Orion_Star_EU
They look like they will be players one - quite segmented and no bits that wouldn't fit in the player char creator.
WW, good call. Enough to fend off the slavering hordes for a while longer
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Tbh, Redside really doesn't need more zones. A few more TFs, sure. But more zones?
I think the reason Blueside feels (to me at least) worse than redside is cos there are too many zones, with not enough decent content in them.
If it was up to me (I wish) then I'd suggest an underlying story arc to each zone.
So far we have The Hollows and its Outcast-Troll war, along with LT Winscotts son. Faultline I love because it has a REALLY solid underlying story, namely tied to the history of the zone.
None of the other zones really have any of that. If they could make a series of contacts that covered a broad range in each zone and cut out all the fat and old stuff...well, win/win, right? More content, new at that, and less hassle trying to find just who you need to talk to next. -
Quote:New gameplay and feautures also won't happen if they are bugged to hell and back. Ergo, nothing is gonna be announced until it is ready.Originally Posted by SinergyX_EU
Why is it worth waiting, if nobody even know where they are waiting for? (apart from a single trailer). Bugs i care little for, new gameplay/features is what i am after.
And it amazes me people comparing the HERO/GURPS to a MMO, it doesnt matter wich rules are being used, its how it is presented to the player. CO has flaws, CoH lacks gameplay, thats my view on both.
Off-topic, slightly, I think S.P.E.C.I.A.L. from Fallout is superior
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Revamping of old zones and outdated content first, thanks
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Quote:So it's an ironic title?Originally Posted by Goliath Bird Eater
Fun Fact: Her forum title reads "Rookie", but if memory serves, she's actually the senior-most member of the dev team, having been involved with City of Heroes since 2002.
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Quote:I don't really see why. I guess I just don't get why the HEATs have this added 'penalty' (which it CAN be, not always but sometimes).Originally Posted by Tonality
I think you just lost your right to use your /facepalm picture, Techbot Alpha.
While this isn't facepalm worthy, cysts really aren't that tough to deal with, and the extra threat they offer is fun on a team. I love it when I get real cysts spawned with the ITF cysts. Lots of fun. Pop a few inspirations and blast away.
Alos, sure, if you can kill the Cyst most of the mob dies. Thats IF you can get through the hail of accurate, -recharge attacks. And destroy the Cyst, which are actually quite tough.
Certainly some sort of level different versions. In the same way that certain mobs look the same higher up, but have better attacks, etc; have low level, mid level and High Level Cyst versions, with slight variation.
This was a team around the late 20s early 30s, and that hurt bad. I remember lowbie cysts really, really hurting though. -
We don't really know how SGs are going to work with GR. Wether they will stay as is, wether they allow Rogues and Vigilantes in on their respective sides (I would at least hope for that) or maybe we can get true 'Neutral' SGs.
So far, the only solid thing we know is that we dont
Nice idea though.
Quote:I'm...pretty sure that's not the case Birdy. I may be wrong, we may both be wrong. As far as I remember, the choice at creation was 'Hero, Villain or Praetorian'. And then your choices in the Praetorian 'Tutorial' led to which side you ended up on.Also note that Praetorians do not start off as Grey, they need to pick red or blue when created, and they need to pick again before leaving Praetoria at level 20.
Again, we still don't have the solid intel, so we can only guess at best. -
Quote:The Cysts in the ITF are not 'Real' cysts, however. They are destructable mission objectives. They dont' actually spawn any Nictus, the Nictus are just there in the mission, usually as the 'Guard' mob.Originally Posted by Lucky666
Hear hear! I love these things their the main reason I love the 2nd mish in the ITF so much. Your just gonna have to deal.
The 'Real' Cysts in normal missions with a Kheldian on the team spawn a huge cloud of Nictus fluffies. And by huge I mean 20+? I couldn't actually sount the ammount we ran into last night.
If they replaced Normal Cysts with the ones from the ITF, i.e. they were a mob replacement that were all Nictus, with a Cyst at the heart, I could live with that. But the cysts as they are now certainly, to me at least, seem to break RvR -
Now, the title isn't exactly very clear, so I shall explain.
Pretty much everyone knows about Shadow Cysts. If you dont, quick run-down; Shadow Cysts are the same crystals that spawn in the ITF. They appear randomly for any team that has a Kheldian in it, or a team which has a member that HAS teamed with a Kheldian within a certain number of hours (cant exactly recall)
Shadow Cysts spawn number of Unbound Nicti clouds. Lesser (minion), Unbound (Lt) and Greater (Boss).
They also spawn these damn things in ungodly large numbers. Now, one on one the fluffies arent much of a threat. When they spawn in about...I dunno, clouds of thirty? Their attacks are all neg damage with -recharge. They are HORRIBLE to fight. Even a team that is doing competantly, not steamrollering but mashing away at a nice steady pace, and even steamroller teams, tend to grind to a horrible, horrible halt when confronted with a Cyst 'Swarm' as I call them.
Now, the suggestion. Cap the number of Nicti clouds the Cyst can summon. Say about ten.
Reasoning behind that? Cysts are just another spanner in the HEAT works. Void hunters and the like are ok to deal with, as are 'Bound' Nictus, such as Dark Dwarves and Bright Novas. Cysts, on the other hand, are just plain nasty. It's a real cramp to any incentive to team with a Kheldian. Whats worse is when they spawn in the same room as, say, an AV, which happened when fighting Captain Castillo in Faultline.
Cysts are not fun as they are now, and thats not a good thing in an AT that already has an averaging rep (Not all of it true, YMMV) -
Quote:Sam...dude...Originally Posted by Samuel_Tow
Let me turn that around for a second - who are YOU? Far as I can see, the original idea was posted by Perfect Pain, and you are not Perfect Pain. Are you by any chance her equally whiny, passive-agressive husband or her sock pupper?
Let's see... Cry me a river?
Get outta my head
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Quote:NOW that comment makes sense. I'm sure I knew that, it just didn't all click before.Originally Posted by Roderick
This is the correct answer. There are no baby Rikti; they are changed in childhood at some point. That is why humans are referred to as the "birth form" in a few arcs.
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Quote:^ This, really. I still go with travels when I feel it works/want to. NR just makes it less of a hassle to do so.Originally Posted by Laevateinn
Travel powers (or the lack thereof) are always a concept choice for me, and even some of my travel-powerless characters don't use Ninja Run. It would be kind of weird seeing an elf knight in plate or an amazonian barbarian in a leather bikini in that pose.
Also, Laev, it might look wierd, but I bet the Barbarian has a nice view...
I keed -
Someone HAS to be wrong.
It's the internet. -
Quote:^ ThisOriginally Posted by TyrantMikey
You know what excites me about this? It's that it's War Witch. You know: the Dev responsible for the revamp of the Hollows.
The game's in good hands.
That cheered me up a LOT
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Quote:Originally Posted by Positron
Congrats to WarWitch on her new duties. In the short time she's been at the helm I have already been impressed with the way she has taken the ball and run with it. Of course, after she felt good about everything is when I gave her the debrief on the current crop of player concerns and things to keep a close eye on in-game, bringing the reality of the position crashing down around her. Heh heh heh.
And a lot of you caught the reference to the End-Game that I am now working on. WarWitch frees me up to be creative again (yay!) and my strike team and I are designing and implementing an all-new system for your max-level characters to participate in. Rest assured that my focus for end-game is FUN. I won't be able to give out any specific details for a while, but I think you are all going to be very excited with all the future plans for City of Heroes, whether it is Going Rogue or beyond.
So yeah, you all can now fill up WarWitch's PM box with all your suggestions/exploits/requests for info/general chit chat. I'll still be around and answer questions when I can, but she's the "go to girl" for all that stuff now.
Here's the torch, WarWitch... don't burn yourself with it.You guys rock, you know that right?Quote:Originally Posted by War Witch
Oooo...shiny. OUCH!
Thanks, Positron. (I think.) Don't think I can't hear you cackling from my cube, by the way...
WW
Give those designs...uh...a good designing, Matt!
And congrats, Mellisa. I know I bugged you a lot when you showed up in PD Euro side :P Glad to know you guys still like us sort of. Heh.
And, no offence to Matt, but I'm glad to see someone mentioning that "Not every issue has to have a new shiny." The core game, namely the Old content Heroside (And capital Old is fully justified) really needs a re-haul. It's starting to show it's age more than Nemesis!
Congrats to all the other promotees, and welcome to the new Devs. We don't bite...honest!
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Quote:Paaaay heeeerrr!!Originally Posted by Dark_Respite
*raises her hand to volunteer*
I'll do it. The Ko is a technical writer/editor by profession. Can I get a 1-month contract job to fix the spelling/grammar/continuity for all the text in the game, and the manual as well?
Michelle
aka
Samuraiko/Dark_Respite
What bugs me the most is how text boxes are still brokenly awful with the mouse. You click on one point, and it spazzes out to another.
This has been in game since I14, and drives my writer-self mad.
Other than that, I think the only majorly 'Broken' broken thing is Posi's feedback loop; he keeps saying 'New Shinies!', when he should be saying 'Revamp Old Stuff!'
I kid not. There is a reason I have more Villains than Heroes, and more past level 20. The majority of blueside content is OLD and it is DULL. The Hollows is my starting zone, really, followed by whatever else I can move onto. Usually leaping at the chance to team with friends, because the old contacts are so, so, SO mind numbingly dull and repetetive. I think it's a combination of the mission types (hunt, defeat all, hunt, hunt, hostage, defeat all, defeat all....) and less gripping writing than Redside. Redside just...I dunno. Makes you feel like a villain, doing your thang, even when really it's the same stuff too. You can just use it much more easily. And there are so many contact variations, I still get some I've never played before. -
Quote:My case in point would be the Movie Tie-in games. Now, simply by dint of being what they are, they tend to not work well, because movies, by being so narrative, are incredibly hard to make work in game format.Originally Posted by Arcanaville
If the devs don't promise us a specific date, there's no chance we'll be able to blame them for breaking that date.
Ironically, this suggests to some players that they shouldn't promise a specific date, and it suggests to other players that they *should* promise a specific date.
But I suspect that they are also incredible pressure to be brought out 'on time', to tie in with the movies. Hell, sometimes they are released BEFORE the movie, which to me just smacks of really poor design work. It doesn't help that, without fail (for me, at least) all the Movie games have been Average at best, shockingly awful at worst.
It can go too far the other way, though. I can't remember what it was, but some game got pushed back and back and back in development, until it simply failed because no-one gave a damn. Then there is the happy middle-ground, where a game might get pushed back a little bit, but the resulting quality is that much more awesome, which has happened a few times, although I can't for the life of me recall the names...
Either way, more time spent will (usually) mean a more polished result. I know which one I'd pick. -
My main Hero (My only blueside level 50) is still kind of in limbo. As an Invul/EM tanker, theres just something that doesn't quite click. I don't know wether it's the sets and my expectations, or his character, or what.
My main Villain came semi-alive for most of his carreer, but really kicked off when he hit the 50s. He's had the odd hiatus, but now he's well and truly settled as the diabolical little MM he's meant to be. -
Quote:Rock control, re-coloured to look like coral? Energy blast is one of the easiest to fudge, I guess.Originally Posted by Nova Knight
I'm curious about Reefwarden's archetype and powersets. I've contemplated an aquatic character but had trouble deciding what to make him. The only powers that seem "watery" are the various ice powersets, which are not necessarily aquatic. I concluded that the only solution was to incorporate the aquatic aspect into his costume and back story and choose powers that appear consistent with life under water. (i.e. super strength from dealing with the crushing ocean pressure)
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Quote:I'll bite your kneecaps off!Originally Posted by Fiftycalsniper
DETAILS, mere details! I harumph in your general direction! Your mother was a hamster, and your father smelt of elderberries! Now, go away, or I shall taunt you a SECOND TIME! :^)
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Alright, shall we call it a draw?
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Quote:A non-specific release date is BETTER.Originally Posted by GMan3
Am I the only one a little annoyed with how vague the release "date" for GR is? Especially since they did not specify if 2nd Quarter of 2010 was fiscal or calendar. I would have really appreciated a little more clarity on this. It might even be a good idea to release some more information on the subject already, maybe on the GR website which has not been updated in months.
What would people rather have? A GR release that was rushed to get it out for the 'promised time', or a GR release that came a little bit later, was more thoroughly tested and less bug-filled. Yes, there will still be bugs (I challange anyone to find a release of any sort that DIDN'T have any) but it'd be nice to have a smoother release than one that was rushed.
This is why I prefer films and games to be ready 'When they are Ready', and not before. Rushing things leads to failure. -
I think that line up sounds really neat, especially the background behind them.
And hey, I think it'd be nice for Fusionette and Faultline to catch a break from being disliked so much some day. If they actually wound up competant and doing the right thing.
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Oooo...I just had an idea for an arc!
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Quote:WordOriginally Posted by Esoteric_Monk
Blarg.
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Quote:Kind of off-topic here, Arcana, but you should seriously think about publishing some sort of book related to game-design and mechanics. Another great post, with things I didn't know before.Originally Posted by Arcanaville
I'm referring to a lot of things. For example, I like the blocking mechanic: it fits with the unrooted combat and allows for a better way to add complexity to the damage/defense equations of combat. I like the shift to activity-based endurance (although I'm not as crazy about the concept of specific endurance-builders specifically). Combine those two with a zero-recharge power system (with minimal cool down) though, and you can end up with a system where the sweet spot for combat has just enough blocking in it that you get virtually unlimited endurance "for free" as part of your general defensive strategy, and can therefore cycle your most powerful attack(s) almost indefinitely. This then can eliminate endurance as a balancing factor, and by extention eliminate the cost/benefit balancing factors in attacks in general. Then you have people simply gigabolting their way through the game.
And bear in mind these are features I *like* combining in potentially design-breaking ways in the launched game. There are also features which have materially affected the evolution of the game in constraining and deleterious ways. One side effect of the "open" powers system is the fact that initially, you could take any *or all* of the defensive powers. I actually sent a PM to Weirdbeard with basically one sentence: this is broken. I think they thought they could get away with that because Champions "gets away with that" but that's mainly because Champions GMs don't let that get out of hand. This prompted the need to create the "passive slot" and with it the passive system, and with that the offensive passive problem (namely: they suck). It also severely constrains defensive diversity: all characters with strong defense basically have the passive-block-heal tuple. They tried to compensate by packing mechanical diversity into the passive defensive mechanisms, but that then created the problem that novel mechanics are not trivial to balance, and I'm still not sure they have or can.
Another casualty of the "open" powers system was the melee archetype. In CoH the melee archetype is justified by granting the melee archetype higher defenses. This not only compensates for "being in more danger" but it also provides a tradeoff justification for surrendering range as a gameplay option. People play scrappers even though they are giving up range, because scrappers offer a completely different gameplay experience. In CO, there is no unique gameplay option that melee focused characters provide, unless you count dying as a gameplay option. Melee offense in CO gives up a lot intrinsicly just by not being ranged. But that option comes with no counterbalancing options unavailable to non-melee characters. So they've essentially created a game which penalizes the conceptual choice of not using range - which is what melee is in CO: its the voluntary choice to not use range.
The rule here is: if choices have no downsides, all the upsides must be identical.
Some of these things I publicly predicted on the closed forums, but some I didn't anticipate at all which makes them interesting learning opportunities.
Raises interesting points about the BLast/Armour set I keep bringing up in suggestions, and enlightens me as to why Sam is probably more on the mark with his Assault/Armour idea. Hmm...