The SSOCS is out of the bag....
By
Aang_Protector,
Posted on: 2004-10-14 11:13 in CoH and CoV General Discussions
[ QUOTE ]
It looks very cool. I cannot wait to see the entire list of subfields and general descriptions. So can we expect this tech for update 4?
THz
[/ QUOTE ]
According to the CGW article, it's supposed to be part of Update 3.
Statesman originally said:
[ QUOTE ]
The system ended up being a lot more involved than initially thought. And I didn't want to rush Skills out the door and jeopardize it's quality. So I pushed it off to a future expansion.
[/ QUOTE ]
I read this as saying that it was originally planned to be in when the game went gold, but was more complex, and was pushed off from that point (last April) to now (update 3).
Statesman, am I even remotely close to home with this analysis?
[ QUOTE ]
Would I have an advantage in advancing through the detective skills by having my own personal detective experience? I've almost got my Criminal Justice major, would that help me in game somehow?
[/ QUOTE ]
LOL, if that helps, then I sure hope my Chemistry degree will help a bit in the science branch. 
I'm still kinda curious about what the Science skills help out with. I hope it's not something where I have to build a flux capacitor and find the 1.21 gigawatts to power the damn thing. Then again, making gizmos would be pretty nifty.
IIRC, it's CGW's date that's wrong. If I'm recalling my thread-reading correctly when this first was mentioned, it was hoped to be in Issue 3 but is apparently proving too complex and being pushed back.
@Mindshadow
[ QUOTE ]
IIRC, it's CGW's date that's wrong. If I'm recalling my thread-reading correctly when this first was mentioned, it was hoped to be in Issue 3 but is apparently proving too complex and being pushed back.
[/ QUOTE ]
Gotcha. And <censored> that I have to wait three extra months for it. 
[ QUOTE ]
We have a general policy of posting weekly updates that discuss an upcoming Expansion (see Wednesday's Fifth Column article on the front page, for instance).
[/ QUOTE ]
I know this is a bit off topic of the thread, but this means that the 3rd expansion is already being hinted about? Is this expansion coming sooner than people expect? And if so, does that mean the 4th (and hopefully skills) are coming sooner than expected as well?
Just hoping,
-Kendal
It sounds interesting, but has anyone noticed that all the applications of these Skills are in fact for combat missions?
IIRC, this was originally supposed to be a form of non-combat skill/XP enhancement. Now it sounds like the skills are going to enhance existing missions. I have no objection to that, because I like doing missions and would appreciate ways to enhance/expand missions, but some people might not see it that way.
Of course, we don't really know yet how these skills will be acquired. It might be new forms of missions, like finding items in a city zone, or doing specialized missions in instanced zones, where no combat is required. Frankly, if learning the 'bomb' skill (for example) rerquires my finding 100 glowies in a large instanced map, I'm not sure I'd want to put up with the frustration.
However, right now I will wait and see what happens.
Sounds like it could be excellent.
Personally, I'm hoping it adds another layer to missions, rather than being isolated as "skill" missions.
Meaning that there'd be multiple ways to complete missions. If you want to try and complete a mission just by cracking skulls, you can. If you want to and complete it (or at least make it much easier) by hacking a database, or investigating further on your own, you can.
[ QUOTE ]
Or, of course, for the Discworld heroes: "GOOD EVENING. I WILL BE YOUR TEACHER. SIT."
[/ QUOTE ]
Nah... Death would make a horrible teacher... he's like Time... kills all of his students... (Avoiding getting kicked now)... Make Susan the teacher...
And besides... didn't you realize that all buildings in Paragon City are made of unbreakium (tm)? With the amount of explosions that go off with a fully loaded Nemesis mission, no building should be able to withstand that (we must defuse the two little bombs; Make sure to kill all of the Jaeger's and Warhulks)...
The Caf-Fiend
Fantastic!
Statesman, if you have the time to answer, how is a 'skill check' going to work? Would it simply be a chance of success based on your skill level, made when you click on the appropriate clicky thing?
Will we be able to attempt skill checks that are far out of our league, and will we risk Terrible Consequences if we do so?
This sounds potentially great, but I'm curious about this "specialize in one" thing. My main character, Captain Meson, is an academic scientist whose secret identity is a university professor. I suspect he would have some ability in "science", "scholarship", and possibly "communication". Obviously the system isn't fully explained in the article, but potentially a character might want to be shallow (or deep) in several skills instead of deep (or masterful) in one. Will that be allowed?
Is this just going to be another way to get experience? Or is it actually going to be something new?
Sincerely,
Fireshade
I'm thinking the Skills will be grouped like this:
Detective: Deals with criminal investigation. Useful for finding forensic clues and bypassing security.
Science: Deals with Science and Technology. Useful for determining what a substance is made out of and how to shutdown high-tech equipment.
Communication: Deals with Interrogation and Information Gathering. Useful for finding secret bases or picking up leads.
Scholar: Deals with knowledge of obscure facts. Useful for reading ancient languages and determining the properties of a magical artifact.
Of course, this is all wild speculation, but you see how the Scholar would be very useful when dealing with magical enemies.
ya-freakin-hoo!
this game just keeps getting better and better.
Can this article be read online?
what I want to know is why was the magazine told before us on the board?
Did the magazine release the article too soon, or was this a consience decision by you? I really want to give you the benifit of the doubt, because I would hope you have more respect for us than that.
[ QUOTE ]
here is the quote from CGW
[ QUOTE ]
Skills are City of Heroes' answer to the ubiquitous MMO crafting system - except they're totally different. Characters will be able to specialize in one of four different skill trees: Detective, Science, Communication, and Scholarship. They can further specialize in various areas of expertise, such as Forensics or Security for the Detective tree. Skills are level-independent and wholly optional; your character will be able to interact with myriad objects during the game, at which point he, (Ed. note: or she ), can attempt a series of skill checks. Success brings new objectives or perhaps some extra experiance. For example, succeeding at a Security check in a bomb infested building might reveal the explosives on the mission map.
Skills are learned and improved by studying at universities throughout Paragon City. You'll earn temporary, expendable skill boosts during missions; these are somewhat similar to inspirations but can also be converted into wisdom, which is used to add permanent skill boosts at the aformentioned universities. As with enhancements, you'll find generic skill improvements as well as stronger, more focused upgrades alon the lines of dual- and single- origin enhancements. The only skill you'll need now, though, is the patience to hold out for all this good stuff.
[/ QUOTE ]
[/ QUOTE ]
I just wanted to bump this again because some people have speculated that you will be 'required' to have 'certain skills' in order to complete missions.
When you read the article carefully, it states that "Skills are level-independent and wholly optional" which leads one to believe that if they are wholly optional, they will not be required on regular missions, thus no need to sweat about 'having' to gain a skill. A hero can either take it or leave it.
Now, there could be new, separate 'missions' that you recieve from the Universities/Professers, or whatnot, specifically related to your 'studies' to gain skills, etc.
But these missions probably would not come from your regular contacts, though your skills could make your regular contact missions possibly easier <bomb finding>, thus the benefit of gaining skills! A benefit, but not required.
Seems interesting, we shall see.
Thank you Statesman 
[ QUOTE ]
I'm thinking the Skills will be grouped like this:
Detective: Deals with criminal investigation. Useful for finding forensic clues and bypassing security.
Science: Deals with Science and Technology. Useful for determining what a substance is made out of and how to shutdown high-tech equipment.
Communication: Deals with Interrogation and Information Gathering. Useful for finding secret bases or picking up leads.
Scholar: Deals with knowledge of obscure facts. Useful for reading ancient languages and determining the properties of a magical artifact.
Of course, this is all wild speculation, but you see how the Scholar would be very useful when dealing with magical enemies.
[/ QUOTE ]
If that's the case, I wonder if there are going to be certain missions or tasks where, for example, a hero with Detective skills might find some sort of special clue, but needs further examination from another hero with Science skills to determine what it is? I'm not sure how this will affect people that would rather solo and stay pretty secluded, but I think this might be a great way to promote more teamwork between heroes.
I don't think they'll ever make it necessary to have them to complete missions. I mean, you could deactivate the machinery, or you could go the Hulk route and SMASH it!
The benefits to deactivating it could be bonus XP, advancement in your skills, and not having it blow up in your face.
From reading the article it sounds like this is just going to be a stupid way to get some extra xp if you have the right skills. My understanding was that this was supposed to add another aspect to the game the way crafting and collecting equipment are in other games. If this is its purpose then it will be a complete falure if it's just a way to get experience.
Sincerely,
Fireshade
[ QUOTE ]
From reading the article it sounds like this is just going to be a stupid way to get some extra xp if you have the right skills. My understanding was that this was supposed to add another aspect to the game the way crafting and collecting equipment are in other games. If this is its purpose then it will be a complete falure if it's just a way to get experience.
Sincerely,
Fireshade
[/ QUOTE ]
Just like defeating villains is just a way to get experience?
We all know what a terrible idea that was.
[ QUOTE ]
Marketing! What about marketing!!! My guy is a business guy... I need marketing!!!
[/ QUOTE ]
Marketing? Sorry - that's for City Of Villains. So are all the 'Lawyer' skills. ;-)
My memory's not as sharp as it used to be.
Also, my memory's not as sharp as it used to be.
"The tip of a shoelace is called an aglet, its true purpose is sinister." The Question
[ QUOTE ]
What this game really needs is more cowbell!
[/ QUOTE ]
Some new jokes would be nice too.
But to me this sounds like a nice added feature. People who have been looking for a crafting component in the game should be satisfied nicely and combat people can ignore this type of content if it doesn't appeal to them.
Looking forward to trying it out when it's finally done.
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
From reading the article it sounds like this is just going to be a stupid way to get some extra xp if you have the right skills. My understanding was that this was supposed to add another aspect to the game the way crafting and collecting equipment are in other games. If this is its purpose then it will be a complete falure if it's just a way to get experience.
Sincerely,
Fireshade
[/ QUOTE ]
Just like defeating villains is just a way to get experience?
We all know what a terrible idea that was.
[/ QUOTE ]
All I said was that it wouldn't acomplish anything if the goal was to add another aspect to the game the way equipment does other games. I didn't say that there was anything wrong with geting xp. What im saying is that all this would accomplish is add a different way to go about geting your levels. It doesn't actually give you any new abilities or new things you can do in combat or whatever.
Sincerely,
Fireshade
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
From reading the article it sounds like this is just going to be a stupid way to get some extra xp if you have the right skills. My understanding was that this was supposed to add another aspect to the game the way crafting and collecting equipment are in other games. If this is its purpose then it will be a complete falure if it's just a way to get experience.
Sincerely,
Fireshade
[/ QUOTE ]
Just like defeating villains is just a way to get experience?
We all know what a terrible idea that was.
[/ QUOTE ]
All I said was that it wouldn't acomplish anything if the goal was to add another aspect to the game the way equipment does other games. I didn't say that there was anything wrong with geting xp. What im saying is that all this would accomplish is add a different way to go about geting your levels. It doesn't actually give you any new abilities or new things you can do in combat or whatever.
Sincerely,
Fireshade
[/ QUOTE ]
I'm thinking that it'll add some more interesting aspects to gameplay, while giving XP. Maybe they'll make some contacts in the University that give completely non-combat missions?
[ QUOTE ]
I just have a terrifying image of a lecture hall filled with hulking freaks in body armour with flames roaring from their hands and electricity crackling across their bodies. That's not a class I'd like to teach.
[/ QUOTE ]
Nah, just limits the professorial pool a bit.
"Hello, I'm Prof. Galactus, and I'll be your teacher in Cosmic Superscience 101. Please take your seats. Now."
Or, of course, for the Discworld heroes: "GOOD EVENING. I WILL BE YOUR TEACHER. SIT."
Nooooo problem.
My scrapper doesn't need an AoE. She IS an AoE.