Chase_Arcanum

Rian introduced CoH to me and the missus. Her first MMO, I'd dabbled around on several. We shared an account for about a week, just to see if we'd like it. Liked it enough to buy not just another account, but another frigging gaming PC just so we could play together. Since then, its been our together time- a place where we can meet when I'm on the road- and a little marriage-building exercise. Some couples go outside and garden together; some go to exotic places and explore; some go out and party. We go online and fight crime.*


*and heckle Rian on costume selection, play tactics, and generally any other opportunity that arises.

Imagine the reality TV show.

I know they're textile plants, but at some level, Kings Row always reminded me of the decaying steel-and-coal town I grew up in, so I've just got to answer ya:


No, No we don't.





...Please burn it to the ground.



No, burning's too simple. Blow it up.

Nuke it.

Big mushroom cloud. Spectacular pyrotechnics.

Make those stee... err... textile mills glow.

Baffled? Look at the demographics. Those regions offer the greatest concentrations of catgirls on the planet. That can't be a coincidence.


...or are you counting the catgirl population AS a threat of cosmic proportions?

Wha...Bu.... but last week you told me it was MINE!
:a tear traces its way down the cheek on his otherwise-stoic face as he hastens his way to the thread's exit.

Positron did provide some info on the archnemesis thing ages ago. Not sure if it was on the boards or an interview, but it was pre-cryptic's-other-product-to-remain-nameless. I recall that when I saw that other place's nemesis system I noted how it paled in comparison to Posi's plan (though there were some similarities).

EDIT: it had to be Pre-Issue 8. Found an archived interview talking about I8 with the following:

EDIT: found it- positron's "ask a dev" on these boards. Unfortunately, unavailable, but I found a google cache of another gaming forum where someone reposted it.

Define "go splurt." and what are the graphics settings you're on.

I have a 3-year-old PC and one that hasn't been modified since CoH launch. The oldest one's on -necessarily- rather low display settings, and a busy atlas slows framerate notably, but no crashes and entirely playable, so age doesn't seem to be the defining factor. Even the 3-year-PC was just cobbled together with under-$500 parts, so its hardly a gaming rig, and again, atlas on peak traffic brings no crippling issues with ultra mode enabled

Note that there's some indication that mutants may be viewed with some suspicion. It doesn't say marvel-style institutional fear, though. It IS one of the only origins to specify this mix of awe and fear though, so roleplaying varying degrees of prejudice would be legitimate.

Note that being "altered" by accident isn't included here. It IS included in "Science" though.

Science Text I'd say that, in dugfromtheearth's example, people biologically mutated by Crey's industrial accident could be "Science" origin, but if the trait carried on to their not-yet-born children, those kids would be considered "mutant" in origin.

Realistically, of course, the categories are going to have gray areas and overlaps. Use what works best for your story, disregard the rest.

Agreed, I couldn't even imagine CoH2 (if it ever exists) keeping the gameplay that we have here. I'd hope for something more akin to the MMO gameplay reinvention we're catching glimpses of in NCSoft's next big US release than a rehash-reskin of a game mechanic that we've already taken past the breaking point several times over.

Class.... powers.... gameplay... who's to say any of that would be in ANY way similar enough to this game that they could even make a comparable port beyond reserving your name for you?

No, it wasn't original, just giving options that wouldn't need to use less-tested techniques like phasing

I don't think that redside's problem is due to zone issues. Many people just don't like playing the villain. Heck, most of my redsiders are "somewhat-hardened heroes with a past" that are based there in part to undermine arachnos. I just have to ignore 90% of the arcs while leveling.

As for equal zone revamps: it doesn't make much sense.

City of Villains came out well after City of Heroes. Many of the Villainside zones were made with real "lessons learned" from the development of the heroside counterparts.

Could they use improvement? Yes, but there are many more heroside zones that were made much earlier- some very early in the development process before any "lessons learned" can be made. The assets were less defined. The design philosophy was less established. From a design-evolution point of view, if you feel that old CoV zones are stone-age, then much of CoH would be back in the Jurassic.

Some of those zones are out-of-the-way enough that their age isn't that notable to the new players and they can be considered dead for now, but others will necessarily come before the (comparably newer) villain zones. (and made into "shared" zones to give villains some new content)

You could also have 'duplicate maps' of a zone.

Essentially, two versions of (for example) a revamped Nerva Archipelago, hero & villain, playing out an near escalation to open war between Longbow and Arachnos. Different arcs, etc. On the hero-side, add safeguard-mission-esque "named" villains going around doing essentially what the villain-side PC's would be doing, and on the villain side, include NPC heroes acting out their part.

You'd have the essential feeling of a "shared" zone with real conflict between heroes and villains without dealing with the unpopularity of zone PvP (or the "why can't I 'arrest' that bad guy, he's right there!" immersion issues).

Beautiful

How about "Stand around Atlas Park periodically releasing messages in local/broadcast that, while technically not NSFW, could easily be interpreted as such, followed by a *oops. MT*"

Its a wonderful way to make new friends. Its kinda like "LFG DFB" for those inclined to... alternative gameplay...

... or so I'm told.

Shutting down the servers. All of them... probably.... depends if I could wrangle a bootleg server together.

Yeah, they got their hooks in good.

Actually, I agree with the zone, but would probably get so caught up disagreeing with your rationale that we'd cancel things out. I don't expect or necessarily want a full atlas-park-level revamp, nor do I think that "heroes get everything" mindset will do anything but spark unnecessary debate.

Port Oakes is supposed to be a former-capital-in-decline, and at that, it succeeds relatively well. Rather than an atlas-like replacement of buildings, I'd rather see the zone's changes appear more an evolution of the city:


1) Villa Montrose: The family's known for businesslike frugality, but "family businesses" like this are often lavish when it comes to... well... family matters. Make one of the Marcone Princesses get married. The manor would look rather remarkable if it was spruced up a bit- the grime cleaned off the stonework (retinting), and decorated with things like greenery and banners and such. Add some "classic" cars for the boys to mill around, a tented and well-guarded reception area in the pasture nearby, and a whole floating marina of more luxurious boats for all the wealthier guests. Remember, family gatherings are BIG events. Add an arc dealing with the political subterfuge of such events- and the need for discretion during them.

2) Dockside: If you look at the boarded-up white buildings along the southeast side, its a (now-abandoned) resort. While St. Martial is the place to go for vice vacations, sometimes people that are... unwelcome... at mainstream resorts need a place to unwind... and are willing to spend top dollar to have such a place (without questioning the origin of that dollar). Some enterprising business has decided that the Port Oakes resorts could be reclaimed for just that purpose.

Take the resort building closest to the fort (the fort would make a good tourist trap, after all) and renovate it and the land surrounding to create a fitting $$ resort aesthetic themed for the old fort in the backdrop. Make the next resort building appear under renovation, and have all sorts of security forces practically "at war" with the snakes that infest the area. Add another marina "under construction" so these folk don't have to use the congested marina closer to the ferry. Add an arc either hiring out to the agency or helping a St. Martial business that's worried about emerging competition.

3) Marconeville & the rest of Dockside: Places throwing around money like this tend to attract people living off whatever scraps are dropped. Not all these people are going to be living in shantytown-like squalor. The wide roads of an island town like Marconeville wouldn't see much car traffic and while the huge old structures may seem somewhat colorless, the streets themselves would have colorful street vendors, con-men, a 3rd-world-style-market, etc. There will be security forces "evicting" squatters from a soon-to-be-reused building, gangs claiming turf and shaking-down vendors, etc.

*Possibility- a twist on Steel Canyon's firefighter event. Maybe someone wants squatters out of a building so they can demolish for expansion. Maybe its someone trying to sabotage a construction (maybe both, alternating between the two). The current building's occupants have hired some muscle to help protect them. Your goal is to get enough firebombs set at once to turn the building into a smoking husk, (the NPC foes fight you and try to disarm them) Once this is done, keep it burning for x time as others fight the blaze... The building starts in a squatter / construction state, then if the event is successful, looks more charred/abandoned. Before the next event starts, squatters/construction crews move back in....









I've posted such a suggestion a few times over the last couple years. That's something I could get behind.

Gotta just say that from listening to friends in the industry, documentation and resource control is a rather broad problem, even today. Back when Cryptic was developing CoV, it was even worse.

Eve's always been the exception to the rule. In part, not being based on a diku mud at all helps... in part, NOT even giving a semblance of fairness and balance between new and veteran players kinda eliminates any unrealistic expectations to get upset over.

Close. Many of those I know that tried PvP enjoyed it and even had fun with PvP. No. we were not hardcore PvP'ers, but we had enjoyable moments and we liked participating at a comfortable and casual level.

The problem with the toxicity (which was largely less about broadcast chat and tells and more about the CONDUCT that accompanied it) was enough to turn us off. You can't ignore a griefer in zone PvP and still have fun, and you don't feed a griefer. If you go back to fight him again to 'drive him off" and you're just giving him more enjoyment, not less. You're rewarding him- encouraging his behavior.

So... many of us stopped going... which just left the proportion of toxic players higher in those zones, making the issue worse when you did decide to try it, until it just doesn't seem worth trying.

Now, that's not a condemnation against the whole PvP community (and some creative banter IS part of the fun.) The organized PvP events like tournaments seem perfectly geared for great PvP experiences and the encounters that can build lasting friendships even among opponents. They have real potential and I wish more people would give them a chance.

I haven't... most of my play time is rather spontaneous lately, so I can't commit to making a scheduled event, but I often DO encourage others to try them.

....when the number of players on your side is THAT low, you can't afford to piss off anyone if you ever want to team?

Playing hard to get isn't working for you, either, eh?

Granted, they may have seen through my carefully-camouflaged ploy:

"...Your allusion to a "next generation MMO" in this job posting has intrigued me, but some reservations remain. I believe that great success arises from a passionate belief in one's work, and I want to bring that level of passion to this project. Unfortunately, I don't currently have enough information to determine whether this endeavor would spark such passion. If you could forward along all design documents relevant to the aforementioned project..."