Leif_Roar

[ QUOTE ]
its a cop out we offered hm a chance tospeak to us away from the set up like at a point where it comnveinient for him about how we thin pvp could be improved and nothing not even i'll think about it.

[/ QUOTE ]

Maybe he just plain didn't understand you. Lords know I struggle at times.

Seriously though, as contentious as the PvP changes have been, and as heated the forum debates on them have been, you couldn't honestly expect him to discuss it in a free-for-all Q/A session. No matter what he said it would have turned ugly.

[ QUOTE ]
It's only because Leif sarcastically picked up on it as if I had been pimping my arc that I went into full-auto mode.

[/ QUOTE ]

Hey -- no sarcasm intended. A bit of wry amusement, perhaps, but nothing even approaching sarcasm.

[ QUOTE ]
Many would say that I'm a hardcore CoHer (I refuse to call it CoX), but he's pretty much managed to alienate me.

[/ QUOTE ]

"Positron will die before these eyes and he'll know, he'll know, that it is I, Baron Vladimir Harkonnen, that encompasses his doom!"

[ QUOTE ]
We totally need deserts and jungles - we have lots of urban zones, but not many non-urban ones.

[/ QUOTE ]

But what would you do in a jungle zone? City zones work because they are city zones: there are shops, and universities and base portals and trainers and police stations and warehouses and office buildings and alleyways where crime can take place.

A jungle zone would be a great place to set a mission arc or a task-force, but then what? What would be the point of having it as a zone?

[ QUOTE ]
It was odd, Posi seems adamant that a zone revamp would be a waste of time compared to new zones, whereas almost all the players in the crowd would have rather seen Dark Astoria get a revamp...was a real clash of dev opinion vs player opinon...

[/ QUOTE ]

On one hand I can understand it, because the city scope of the two games does make things a little limited. It would be nice to be able to fight evil in lush jungle settings or burning deserts or aboard a derelict spaceship or ... well, exotic, weird places.

Still, with the current structures and mechanisms of the game, I think it would be better to implement such "flights of fancy" as mission arcs and appropriate outdoor maps -- we could do with some more exotic locales to set MA missions in anyway -- rather than something to replace the "day to day" zones.

Commenting on the following comment by Positron:

[ QUOTE ]
Right now, we'd rather add zones, since a revamp takes almost as much time.

[/ QUOTE ]

That it takes as much effort to revamp an existing zone as it takes to make a brand new one is no doubt true. It is also irrelevant and misses the point: a zone revamp gives a better result than a new zone does.

There are several reasons why this is so.

First of all, the game -- and particularly hero-side -- has too many zones as it is. The more zones there are, the more you spread the players out among them and the emptier the game appears.

Next, revamping an old zone will get rid of an eyesore. The old hazard zones are ugly, and they're also bland, boring and dull. Players are still sent into Boomtown and Dark Astoria by the mission system, and they still spend a lot of time in King's Row, the Hollows, Perez and Skyway. More importantly, people will judge the game's graphics as much on its ugliest zone as on its prettiest one.

Then, there is the fact that the existing zones have a presence and, for lack of a better term, "cultural baggage." People care about them; there's a sense of "here" to them: they're tied into the game world in a way that a new zone just can not match. And people like that. It makes the game feel more real. Ask a player which of Perez Park and Blood Bay feels more connected to the rest of the game, and I'll bet you dollars to dimes that 80% will answer Perez.

Further, revamping an existing zone brings with it a feeling of change and evolution that adding new zones lego-like to the rest of the game can't match. When zones change and develope it makes the city feel alive. It makes us feel that things are happening, that there is history. It help build the game's character. It strengthens the feel of Paragon City and the Rogue Isles. It is good storytelling.

Finally, just ask yourself which were best received and turned out to be the more popular: the revamped Faultline and Rikti War Site, or new zones like Cimeroia, Recluse's Victory and Croatoa?

[ QUOTE ]
That kind of thing though is much harder to market against new competition (here, come play our 5 year old game! It's shiny now!)

[/ QUOTE ]

And it doesn't create a windfall of income from the sale of new boxes, which makes it harder to raise capital.

[ QUOTE ]
could it be that there's something in the idea that the MA is somewhat less of a colossus than first seems, and has been construed as something so fabulous because it's quite unique amongst MMOs?

[/ QUOTE ]

Nah. The things about the MA that would have required hard work (besides sitting down and thinking of a good way of structuring the mission creation process) is all the stuff that the developers wouldn't need (in-game UI and presence, mission up- and download, database of missions, rating system) and the things they plain didn't have (enemies customiseable with the costume editor, AT powers and AIs to run them.)

[ QUOTE ]
I was here for ED and the numerous regen nerfs and yes those times were hostile but that was a different type of hostility and maybe i'm looking back with rose tinted glasses (possibly the same ones others are using to view previous issues) but the forums were far more friendly.

[/ QUOTE ]

I wouldn't say the forums were more friendly back then -- rather the opposite. There was a lot of bad blood and hostility and high tempers. Right now, the forums are the most calm and mild-tempered they've ever been.

The forums were a lot more enthusiastic and positive before, though.

[ QUOTE ]
Its one thing to express disapointment its another to be out right hostile which is what many of the recent posts have been.

[/ QUOTE ]

You think this is hostile? Heh. You should have been here for ED. Now, them was some rough weathers, oh aye, winds that would snap the mast in twain if you put as much as a handkerchief on it and every minute or so a wave the size of Essex would come crashing down and snap the keel, sending all of us into the sea. Sometimes we were rescued, and sometimes we weren't.

[ QUOTE ]
Except a large percentage of our veterans spend 90% of there time moaning about things that's hardly going to attract new plays.

[/ QUOTE ]

So you're saying we should lie?

I'm disappointed by the recent development and (lack of direction) of CoH. When I'm discussing City of Heroes -- which is what I tend to do here on the forums -- I'm going to express that disappointment. As long as I, and others, do that civilly and without malice, shouldn't we be entitled to? In fact, shouldn't it be considered honest feedback, which should be of value to the developers?

After all, I don't have any obligation to get new players into City of Heroes or to secure NCSoft's financial future. That's the developer's and NCSoft's marketing department's job. It's their job to make sure the word-of-mouth is good -- not ours.

[ QUOTE ]
Plus, why the test server, does that mean even the Reds cant be arsed to log in to the game?

[/ QUOTE ]

That's how they've always done it. The test server is "neutral ground", and using the test server means everybody can participate with their main character.

[ QUOTE ]
I'm not going to lie and pretend I'm going to be playing CoX forever, myself. I can sense that these frustrated veterans are bored of the game itself though, and seem to be asking for an entirely new game to play to get rid of their boredom.

[/ QUOTE ]

I can't speak for everybody, of course, but for me, that's not the case at all.

For me, a great deal of the enjoyment I've gotten from CoH was not a matter of gameplay. It was sharing in the excitment and enthusiasm on the forums, it was the anticipation of the next issue or event, it was the "Wow, that's cool" factor when a new issue finally arrived, it was the banter and the quarrels and the spirit.

It's a good game, sure. But it wasn't just a good game. And now it is. And that, for me, isn't enough.

[ QUOTE ]
Would be kinda nice, considering they've been threatening to leave for... how many issues now, 3, almost 4? I dunno, I haven't been registered long enough to know if it's been any longer than that. Gets kinda old, we get it already...

[/ QUOTE ]

For my case I already cancelled my subscription back in September and had it run out in December. At the moment I'm on a 1-month timecard from an old Good vs. Evil box to check out the Mission Architect. The announced I15 isn't going to make me resubscribe.

So, in short: They're back, I won't be.

[ QUOTE ]
As I recall they have never told us everything about an issue right away.

[/ QUOTE ]

They've never held back anything big either, though.

[ QUOTE ]
What's really sad is this is meant to be a day for celebration - something to really get us invigorated and excited for the future and yet at seemingly every turn the Devs have missed a huge opportunity as if they are actively trying to [censored] defeat from the jaws of victory.

[/ QUOTE ]

NCSoft might be terrible at managing expectations, but at least they're consistent: they've been terrible at that since Statesman.

[ QUOTE ]
no doubt it's for the US site, hopefully EU players will at least be told we exist!!

[/ QUOTE ]

Considering that the EU homepage barely shows up when you google for "City of heroes", I have my doubts. (Last time I checked, the UK page showed as the 22. result. Pretty abysmal for an offical site.)

[ QUOTE ]
Is that IT? Colour me unimpressed... Posi'd better have some STONKING news for us later.

[/ QUOTE ]

I guess the sucess of I15 depends on two things:

1. How much new content the invasion event brings to the table -- if it's just a reskinned Rikti invasion people are going to be disappointed.

2. If it is coming shortly. If it's released before the end of May, the relative paucity of content isn't so bad, as it'd be coming hot on the heels of the MA. If it doesn't get here till July or August... Well.

Mmm. No, not particularly impressed.

No date's mentioned, but let's hope it's not too far away. It would be ... unfortunate if we had to wait three months for improved mission browsing in the MA.

[ QUOTE ]
It takes some seriously good writing to turn the player into a secondary character and actually do it well. Seriously good to a point that I haven't seen in the MA yet.

[/ QUOTE ]

Or in the canon missions. There are quite a few in-game missions which sin against this to some degree. Particularly on the villain side.

[ QUOTE ]
An excellent point using a good example! Though for clarity I must point out that Khaine is referring to the arc of Ee-Ai-EE-Ai-Oh! (arc id:3662) and not one of my other arcs.

[/ QUOTE ]

Just so that I'm sure I got it right. Khaine used your arc Ee-Ai-EE-Ai-Oh!, which has an arc id of 3662 (three thousand six hundred and sixty-two), as an example and not any of your other arcs, such as The foul-mouthed Handyman! with arc id 1076 (one thousand and seventy-six), To Save A Single World with arc id 83744 (eighty-three thousand, seven hundred and fourty-four) or the one with arc id 83747 (eighty-three thousand, seven hundred and fourty-seven) which is named Marketing Opportunity?

[ QUOTE ]
Arcs originally published in beta could be better as they've had more time for feedback and edits but this only counts if:
* The author gives a damn;
* The arc has been played and feedback given;
* The arc was published with errors/improvements yet to make.

[/ QUOTE ]

And, perhaps most importantly if
* The arc actually is polishable at all.

Every arc can be made better, true, but not every arc can be made good.

[ QUOTE ]
so as long as he tells it well, and gives you enough to do, does it really matter if your actions are central or not?

[/ QUOTE ]

Yes, because what works in passive media like movies, books or verbal storytelling doesn't necessarily work in interactive media like roleplaying, text-adventures or video-games. You're not just telling the player a story: you're including him in it, and you absolutely have to give him a central part.

Why do you have to give the player the main part? Why can't you give him a supporting part? In short because people want to be the hero. They don't want to tag along after the hero or do the hero's laundry: that's not fun.

A recent breakthrough in the study of Linear-A has led to several hitherto undeciphered clay tablets could be read and translated. Imagine the scholarly excitment when it became apparent that the tablets did not, as was commonly believed, hold accounts of the royal treasury and financial records, but were instead remnants of long lost books from the lost continent of Mu.

The world's governments and the Papal High Inquisitor immediatly took action: confiscated the tablets and all known copies and prohibited any discussion of their contents. Immediately, but not before hand-written notes were smuggled out by archaeologists disguised as wild mountain sheep.

Three of the four brave archaeologists who undertook this hazardous trek perished, two ending their scholarly careers as moussaka and one as a succulent souvlakia. The fourth archaeologist however escaped with only a minor shearing, and that's why we can now share with you all the secret knowledge of the ancient architects of Mu:



Write the souvenir first

Start making a mission arc by writing its souvenir, and write the souvenir as the ones in the game: as a story of what happened in the arc. This way you have the arc all mapped out from start to finish before you get into the details of making the characters and designing the missions, and you know in advance what ending you are working towards.

The most important text

The most important text of your arc is its title. Not only is the title people's first impression of your arc, it is your first and only chance of getting their attention. If your title can't catch people's attention in less than two seconds, it's too late. Their eyes have already gone on to the next title in the list, and they won't even read your description.

Make your title count. Use whatever cheap trick you can think: alliteration, rhyme, paraphrasing, popular idioms or even internet memes. Hook them, catch their eye, get them interested. But, and this is important, don't cheat: your title has to be an accurate reflection of your story. Don't name your dark and twisted story about CoT demonworship "Have raygun, will travel." If the story doesn't deliver what the title has promised, people will feel disappointed and betrayed and they won't like your story.

The most important character

The most important character in a story arc is the one you don't write. It's the player's character: the hero or villain who plays your arc. He[1] is the main character, the protagonist, the one who is supposed to drive the story. All your characters are just the supporting cast. Their job is to make the player feel their character is important.

Don't have your characters talk down to the player's character, be blaze about them or patronize them or treat them as if they're not important (unless it's obvious from the rest of the story that your character is utterly, horribly wrong in doing so.) Make sure the player's character makes an impact on the NPCs: your characters should be impressed, surprised, awed, terrorised or shocked by the player's character. They should feel grateful towards them, get angry at them, deplore them, love them, fear them, trust them, worry about them or worship them.

The player's character is the focal point. Your entire story arc should be centered around the him[2].

Dot your i's and cross your t's

Put in the work. The last 20% of your story arc is going to take 80% of the time, at the very least, but it is worth it. Polish, polish, polish. Add descriptions and clues, fix the grammar mistakes and the punctuation, correct the canon errors, tighten the contact dialogues and the NPC texts, fine-tune ambush sizes and enemy costumes. Wax on. Wax off. Repeat until done. Then do it some more.

Whitespace, whitespace, whitespace

Too much whitespace is nearly enough. Whitespace is punctuation. Whitespace makes text readable particularly on a computer screen. So add the vanir-blooded whitespace!


[1] Or, rather, $HeShe
[2] Yes, yes. $himher

[ QUOTE ]
I shall have to change them back.

[/ QUOTE ]

While you're at it, you really should add a souvenir called "The Earth" or "Global Domination" or similar.