Noble Savage

Very funny. But really, reflectivity only comes up if we're looking at a new part that would logically be shiny (like metal armor). By contrast, it's not going to come up on materials like cloth and fur, which you'll see on future costume options just as much as metal and other materials. Given the choice between a measured amount of reflectivity on metal and none at all, we've of course chosen the more visually impressive and modern option. Over time, we'll have to reconcile that decision with the older parts, but that's part of ongoing development. Work in progress.

Certainly underscores how much fresher she'd look in some proper reflective parts.

Not going to happen. If this hypothetical power left any ice in its wake, I'd bet on it being intangible.

Fixed tech wings sits right on top of my personal list of Wants. Don't worry, I'll keep reminding the team about this.

This sums it up quite nicely to me. She can be tech-y and somewhat mythic at the some time. It's tech with a decorative overlay. Were we to update this model, that's the balance I'd like to strike.

We've definitely looked at it. There are some animation challenges to overcome, but I understand it's not impossible.

Confirmed as well. That's how he appeared in the early marketing and at least one video. Not sure if ever appeared that way in game, but I kind of doubt it.

Again, no one's saying we couldn't do an iceslide. But I'll have to respectfully disagree with you about where the idea originates. Forming a persistant slide of ice and then sliding around on its leading edge is quite closely associated with Iceman. Have there been other iceslides since? Sure, but Iceman came first. Is that a problem? No. Superman was the first flying hero, but he's far from the only one these days. Could we make our own, significantly different iceslide in COH? Sure, I think so. I'm sure we could dream up something unique on the concept side, and I'm sure Tunnelrat could bring it to life beautifully in 3D. Could we make an iceslide EXACTLY like Iceman's? Probably, but I'd personally rather come up with a new spin on it.

The most interesting thing for me, reading all of this talk about iceslides, is that the idea seems to have a surprising amount of support. Would all of you really want an iceslide before, say, other flying platforms, some kind of mount, etc.? Let us know what you're dying to see in game!

Confirmed.

In some cases, I don't think it's a problem to make signature characters out of CC parts. Valkyrie's a good example--her concept is that she's an armor-clad warrior with a mythical flavor, and you've done an excellent job showing how it could be done using "off the shelf" parts. And as new options (like Ascension and Celestial Armor for example) continue to come online, it's increasingly doable. I'd use the highres wings instead, but otherwise, I dig what you've done here.

But if a character's core concept requires something we simply COULDN'T make in the CC, then yes--of course it should be built from scratch. As with everything, it's always a question of resources. Where is the team's time better spent: on a signature character or on a new costume set for you guys? In general, I think fans are happier when we go with the latter more often than not, but obviously we're still making plenty of from-scratch signatures too. It's just a matter of finding the perfect ratio.

I wish I could speak to the powers side of things, but that's really a question for Synapse. My only involvement in these things is trying to make 'em look cool.

On a personal note though, just jetting from point A to point B quicker is a sufficient reason for me to get a Rocketboard. Outside of sprint, I don't really use travel powers during combat. I do agree that attacks from a mounted position would be very cool artistically though.

Absolutely critical that it runs smoothly. I'm not a 3D artist, but I'm quite confident in the current team's ability to pull it off, especially considering that they just accomplished something similar with the Seed zone event. That character model is quite detailed and enormous, with several animated parts, a flight path, and multiple targets, all while flying over the the most detailed and modern zone in the game.

Well, in the event that we actually did update this raid, that's where the Design folks would come in. I'm sure they'd have just as many ideas about how to enhance that side of the encounter.

Would love a little more detail on what you mean here. Are you saying that you'd want to float on a cloud of flame, water, bugs, etc.? But it doesn't trail behind you?

Animation is indeed an art issue, and the way characters move (or don't) interact with each other profoundly affects gameplay.

Just for fun, let me run some hypothetical update ideas past you and see what you think. As a thought experiment only, let's say we were going to update the primal Hamidon model. Again, absolutely no plans for this, but it's an interesting topic to think about. You've expressed a desire to maintain the character's "amoeba-ness," and I whole-heartedly agree with you. That said, there are ways we could potentially make him more visually interesting while staying completely faithful to the character concept.

Off the top of my head, some examples:
--ANIMATED CILIA. What if, for decoration, Hamidon grew the occasional wriggling tendril? Or had several spread across his surface, constantly wriggling? For me, that would make the monster feel more alive, more like a microscopic organism, and a heck of a lot creepier too. (You'll notice 4 wriggling cilia poking through the Seed of Hamidon's shell incidently).

--CELL DIVISION. In keeping with the giant cell theme, what if the creature split into two smaller pieces at some point during the battle? For me, that would make the raid experience a lot more interesting-- maybe players would have to coordinate efforts between the two halves. Also, it would be great to see this guy move in a major way.

--SCROLLING SUB-SURFACE TEXTURES. This is something Jay hooked up on the Fallen Seers recently, and it would give the impression that liquid is flowing across/through the cell wall.

--DETAILED ORGANIC TEXTURES. I'm imagining semi-transparent capillary networks (perhaps with a slight glow, maybe even pulsing) across the creature's "skin." The more organic and alive it gets, the closer I think we'd be to the original idea for this character.

--FLOATING DEBRIS/BODIES. Again, to enhance the sense of realism and dread, wouldn't it be neat to have defeated heroes and/or rubble floating in the cell fluid? Just the illusion of things floating within the creature would help to sell the notion that it's composed of liquid.

--ADDITIONAL ORGANELLES. If I was in a giant single-celled organism, I'd expect to see more naturalistic and a greater variety of organelles within the creature. Maybe you can target it, maybe it's just decoration.

--CYTOPLASM BURSTS. We could rig up an effect where the creature sprays fluid after you hit it. You'd have the feeling that you'd punctured the cell membrane and that you were actually damaging it. Anything to make the the fight more visceral would feel like a win for me.

So there you have it. From an art standpoint, we want to do everything in our power to bring these experiences to life in the most engaging, breathtaking, and super-heroic ways possible. Again, a Primal Hamidon update is NOT on the docket at the moment, but if it were, these are some of the things I'd be thinking about.

For me, changes like these would simply be polish on the core experience, deepening the encounter's sense of immersion and realism and keeping the art fresh and modern. This is a living game after all, and ideally we want the graphics to impress both new players that decide to try us out for the first time while simultaneously keeping things fresh for the veterans. I don't think any of the hypothetical updates listed above would harm the Hamidon experience. In fact, I think they could take what's already cool and make it way, way cooler. What do you think?

My guess is that as long as our board isn't reflective and silver w/ 3 lines running down the center, I don't think it'd be a copyright issue. I'm sure we'd discuss with Legal first though, prior to starting such a project.

PM me with the details.

Relax--no immediate plans for primal Hamidon. And even if we were going to redo it, I'm sure the giant amoeba aspect would be retained even more than we did on the Praetorian aspects of Hamidon.

But now I'm really curious--tell us more about why you like it. Essentially all the players I talk to seem to find the art on that charcter a little too plain and static, and the posts I've seen in this thread rarely mention the original Hamidon among their favorite designs. Let us know why it's awesome. That's what this thread is all about--what resonates with you and why.

BaBs got 3 full issues to himself in the 2nd series--not your cup of tea?

Not saying it's impossible, but we'd want to do a new take on it of course.

Welcome!

That's one I'd like to get my hands on for a update. The Avatar and Seed of Hamidon seem to be going over pretty well, so it'd be interesting to see how we could evolve the original and bring it up to modern standards.

What I'm most interested to find out from you guys is which characters' outfits do the best job of portraying the character's story visually. (I.e., you take one look at the character and can tell what their 'deal' is) or, alternatively, which visuals are just really appealing, regardless of story considerations.

If you simply like a character's story but DON'T like the visual, leave that out of this thread. It'll help me tally up the results of the visuals you actually like.

Yep. Very interesting.