The SSOCS is out of the bag....
By
Aang_Protector,
Posted on: 2004-10-14 11:13 in CoH and CoV General Discussions
Since it is no longer SSOCS...what do we call it?
It is no longer Super Secret...And the OCS seems dry.
What is the official name?
Howabout skills?
Hmmm...
Lets name it! Contest time!
What the heck does SSOCS stand for anyways?
--NT
They all laughed at me when I said I wanted to be a comedian.
But I showed them, and nobody's laughing at me now!
If I became a red name, I would be all "and what would you mere mortals like to entertain me with today, mu hu ha ha ha!" ~Arcanaville
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Hmmm...
Lets name it! Contest time!
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University grind system (UGS)
Proffession system
Not so secret out of combat system (NSOCS)
the cowbell thingie
the thingie.
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What the heck does SSOCS stand for anyways?
--NT
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Super Secret Out of Combat System
Even though I was initially disappointed that it wasn't making it into Issue #3, I can emphatically say that with something like this that I feel truly gratified to see it held back until perfection. If something like this is done splendidly, then that will flesh out the game in so many ways. It's the biggest hole in the game right now, and this could well fill it. If it was done poorly... it'd just be another useless, shallow diversion that doesn't really add anything. I am sure you guys can pull this off well! Don't rush it! Hold it back to Issue #5 if you have to!
I'm partial to calling it "The Cowbell Skill Thingetys".
Anyone gonna second my idea?
This sounds very, very cool. I'm looking forward to the Cowbell Pie System.
1. Skills won't be required for mission completion.
2. Skills won't create temp powers; these are skills like "History", "Forensics", etc.
3. Skills do not impinge on the combat mechanics at all.
4. Skills are NOT required. You don't need to play with them at all; but they do give rewards...
5. Psychology is in there. Never fear.
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man, some people just cant appreciate new content if its not specifically what they want in their wildest dreams. i'll bet if cryptic made jesus pop out of the game when you hit level 15 you'd complain about a grind too!
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I can guarantee that five seconds after that was implemented, there'd be a huge flame post on the boards by some politically-correct meathead screaming that Allah, Buddha, and Yahweh didn't also pop out, which clearly indicates that Cryptic is run by extreme right-wing Christian conservatives . . .
Followed five seconds later by a rabid feminazi type shrieking her skull off that Athena, Brighid, and Kuan Yin are also significantly missing so this obviously means that Cryptic is run entirely by male chauvinist pigs . . .
Followed five seconds later by an enraged atheist protesting the inclusion of any religious entities whatsoever . . .
You get the idea.
--Raven Herald
Justice Machine
Level 50 Empathy/Dark Defender
"Together we shall rule Paragon City ignoring the broadcast spam leetness from the crapulous scrankblappers. Good luck fools." - raucity, speaking for Defenders who've had enough from the "plz h341 m3" crowd.
I know it's a little early for information on the system, but I'd love to hear more examples on what and how this can help out with standard missions.
I'm a badge hunter and have rerolled an alt to collect all the badges I can, even if it means starting from lvl 1 again.
So with the psycholog pool, will the "defeat x Freakshow" missions have a lower number because of the powers of persuasion.
THanks for your time to answer some questions Stateman
Interesting.
Sounds like some concepts have been taken from Eve, which is not a bad thing. The best thing about Eve is that it caters well to the casual gamer since you can learn skills at your own pace and time.
Just curious, do higher level skills take longer to learn - and if so, will skill training continue off-line (ie: in real-time)?
I'm hoping some sort of negotiation/persuasion skills will be in the Communications set, myself- get the bad guys to release the hostages, surrender, or perhaps even give up their ways altogether (depending on degree of success, probably). Interrogation (whether overt or covert) would be a plus.
And what's this "characters may pick ONE of these sets" thing? Academics and science would IMHO tend to overlap in some areas, as with some detective and communications skills. Will certain skills overlap between skill trees to some extent?
TargetLad!
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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.
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The "level-independant" thing sounds to me like this system wouldn't have anything to do with XP. This may be way off base, but it seems to me like it might be a seperate point system, something like Skill Points.
From what we've heard so far, I'm excited. We still need a lot more information before making real judgements, though. My one concern with the system is whether it will be as signifigant as combat. Could I start a brand new character, skip combat completely, and just do Skills? Would my gaming experience be equivelant (ie, time spent, things to do) with Skills as it would be with combat gaming? For me, this would be the true measure of how good a non combat system is. If I could spend similar time on a non-combat character before maxing out as I could with a combat character, that could be excellent 
This just looks cool as heck to me.
Cowbell Pie System.
So out of combat, does that mean I will never need combat skills, could I as a lvl 2 go through the entire Cowbell Pie System? Or would I have to continue to lvl my combat abilities to keep up?
Oh and does it have anythign to do with a council or a war?
I have no real questions persay but I'd just like a little more clarification on the entire system, since the cat is out of the bag now.
Just give a rundown that would explain it in general detail so we all get it. Does it apply in missions only or can people earn XP outside of missions? If in a team and you have a skill that makes the mission easier do you get extra XP for it? etc. etc.
per se
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2. Skills won't create temp powers; these are skills like "History", "Forensics", etc.
5. Psychology is in there. Never fear.
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Heeeeeeeeeeeee heeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
I knew it 
Violence has its own economy. Therefore, be thoughtful and precise in your investment.
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If it simply gives you xp it is just another form of the "grind" and wont add anything of worth to the game. If it is seprate from xp leveling the way skills and equipment are in other games then it will add to the game.
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Even if it's separate from the XP grind, it can still be a grind. So, your statement kind of confuses me. Let me try to give an example of why I'm confused. I'm level 37. I was level 36 when badges went live. I'm currently working on my hellions badge when I'm bored. I get absolutely no XP for working on this badge. It's still a grind, though. At the same time I work on this badge, I was also levelling from 36 to 37. A separate grind. But still a grind. I also am doing work on the prisoners badge. And even the XP giving prisoners I kill don't give MUCH XP. They're more of a non-XP grind as well. But still a grind.
Sorry to over-explain this. I just want to know why you think a skills system, that needs advancement or upkeep won't be a "grind."
Unable...to speak...in...unbroken...sentences.
Skills...have weakened...me...to nearly...deathlike state.
Sexual...attraction to...Statesman...and...the entire...Cryptic team...disconcerting me.
Must...twitch here...a...while longer...and recover...from...the coolness of... this announcemnt.
UHHHHN!
If you chose to specialise in 1 area of expertise, will you later be able to respec, if you regret your decision??
And if so what of the people who have allready used there 3 respec trials??
It looks good though, Its good to see that you guys in Cryptic are developing more content all the time
I have 2 major complaints regarding this system:
1) I don't know all the details.
2) It seems to be bugged on Infinity. I can get it to work for any of my characters, nor can anyone in my supergroup, nor can anyone I've talked to on the entire server. Fix needed!
Seriously, it looks great and I can't wait for it to come out. This'll let me add another level of depth and customization to my characters, which is always desirable.
(Wait for someone to reply to my second complaint without reading the rest of my post, assuming that I really think it's supposed to be live and that it's bugged on Infinity.)
If it simply gives you xp it is just another form of the "grind" and wont add anything of worth to the game. If it is seprate from xp leveling the way skills and equipment are in other games then it will add to the game. Why would you want to work on skills if it doesn't add anything to your character?
Sincerely,
Fireshade