[ QUOTE ]
11. Bases: how do you get 'em, what can you do with 'em? What do they look like? How do you attack/defend them? Do you need to own CoV to get one? etc, etc, etc.
[/ QUOTE ]
You build them, buy them, and pay rent on them. They will look as good as your design sense allows. Supergroups will be able to attack other bases if that base has made itself open to raiding. You can have a base that can't be raided, so long as you avoid collecting certain things.
[/ QUOTE ]
I have a little worry about this, so hopefully you can put me at ease--how on earth will smaller SGs be able to protect their base from larger groups? I tend to only play with my friends, currently we number 7, and I'd like to keep the SG around that size. My worry is, if you want to experience everything in the game, including base items, we will stand no chance whatsoever against a large SG.
How are you going to manage this aspect of the game, so that smaller SGs are still viable, even in the base raid world (allow us to booby-trap hallways, add turrets, AI minions, etc?), or will we be encouraged to join massive conglomerates?
An odd question popped into my mind when I read all these questions. I was wondering if maybe CoV would have a huge villian to defeat such as Statesman, like how the heros have Hammidon.
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
8. If villains can receive missions, what are they like? What are the different types?
[/ QUOTE ]
Yes, missions are still a big part of the game. Of course we want them to be more villainous and we are looking at ways to give them more variety. Another non-answer.
[/ QUOTE ]
To get them more vilainous ... should we hold our breaths and expect to start breaking things (furniture, windows ...), break open things (safes, houses ...), blow up things (cars, safes ... ) ... or even set things aflame or turn all the lakes of the city to ice ??? or will I turn blue if I do?
Char Site | My DeviantArt
Global=@Thornster
[ QUOTE ]
You can have a base that can't be raided, so long as you avoid collecting certain things.
[/ QUOTE ]
So, no stealing Statesman's mask and then using it as a wall-hanging in your bathroom if you don't want your base to be raided. Gotcha.
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
3. What do the new archetypes mean?
[/ QUOTE ]
Hmmm. They mean you get 5 new archetypes that don't match up exactly to any of the CoH archetypes. We want them to feel different and match the roles of various villian concepts you see in your favorite comics. And we want them to work together as a well-balanced team. Bad guys work in groups too, after all.
[/ QUOTE ]
Italics added by me.
I've been dwelling on this thought for the last couple of hours and it doesn't sit well with me. Sure, bad guys work in groups, but they don't do it very well. As a matter of fact, the infighting and power struggles within a villain group usually cause the group to collapse and that's why the heros win.
From a purely role-playing standpoint, it seems to me that different members in a villain group have different goals and tactics. Some thoughts on that:
1. Usually, you have lots of baddies that fall into the 'underling' category. These guys are the brainless ones that go do most of the 'dirty' work. They range from random normal human thugs (who are dumb) to super-powered thugs (who are generally dumb as well). We usually see them screw up their mission, get confused by changes in the circumstances of the mission, or just beating stuff until they succeed. It seems to me that they would get the most xp from beating people.
2. You always have someone with a plan. The plan-guy doesn't often do missions himself, but seems like he leaves things in his minions hands. When he does go on a mission, he directs things and basically spoon-feeds them instructions. It seems that when he's got the mission done, he bails and leaves his minions to clean up. In this case, it would seem to me that defeating enemies is not the way to get xp for this guy, but for mission completion. He's got a broader strategic picture to work from, and is not concerned with beating people up. He works for the mission goal at all cost.
3. The mercenary, or loner. The main villain Head-Guy(tm) always has someone that reports only to him. He gets sent on errands that can't be trusted to group #1 above. Sometimes he supervises group #1, sometimes he goes alone. This person is usually stealthy, and is more mission-focused than beating up people. However, he seems like he would get XP from both mission completions and defeating foes.
I'm sure with some additional thought, you can come up with some additional bad guy types, and even see how they compare to the CoV archetypes. However, I'm focusing on the statement that "...bad guys work in groups...." They certainly do, but that doesn't mean they work well in groups. One interesting mechanism you could include in the XP model for CoV is not to split XP evenly between all members. Villains tend to be more selfish than heroes, and would generally try to get all the XP for themselves. The thugs and fighters might only get xp for defeating foes, while the thinkers might only get xp for mission completion. This would drive group #2 for mission completion at all costs, and he would never want to stick around and mop up the rest of the enemies in a mission. However, his thug buddies are more concerned with target practice and would get no bonus for finishing the mission. They just don't care.
I think this would be a really neat mechanism to drive distrust and a villainous thought process to playing in CoV. Balancing it would be hell. The other thing I think about is that it sounds neat when I'm daydreaming it, but would it be actually fun to play that way?
Thoughts?
-Garrik
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
15. PvP: a million questions. When, where, with whom? How do missions and minions enter into it? If you avoid PvP, how much content do you miss out on?
[/ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Less than a million answers -- You'll be able to PvP heroes and villains -- but only those who want to be part of PvP. This is not a "I challenge you to a duel, Black Fang! Okay, Hero Guy, I accept," kind of thing. Consent depends on where you go and the choices you make. You won't get ganked in Galaxy City, no matter what. We're building goals for PvP, so you'll want to play it, so if you are a dedicated PvE player, your friends may have PvP badges, titles, or a temp power you won't earn.
[/ QUOTE ]
[/ QUOTE ]
Ok, I know I'll be flamed for this but wasn't this something that Statesman or someone said would NOT happen?
I may be wrong, but even if I am I think this is a bad, bad, bad idea. CoH was highly PvE in the beginning and a great number of us don't want anything to do with PvP, in some cases having come from PvP games (UO/EQ/DAoC, etc.).
I just want to go on record letting Lord Recluse and the other devs know that this point will probably raise some major hackles and alienate many fans.
I know the PK'er mentality types will flame me for saying it, but it doesn't seem fair to give PvP people rewards that PvE'ers cannot attain through THEIR preferred mode of gaming (and I really have to ask Dave and Jack here if you all have any statistics of what the actual percentage of each might be).
If you're going to do that then you need to make sure there are rewards that only NON-PvP'ers can get and I don't mean the existing badges. It's unfair otherwise.
I don't mean to sound petulant, I'm actually very calm and will endure the flames with dignity but I don't want our excellent devs not to be aware that the PvE crowd (amongst whom I mostly stand, I might do SOME PvP but not much most likely, had enough in other games) may raise hell over this issue.
Flame on!
This isn't really a new revelation, minMAX, but I share some of your concern. Too much reward for PvP and the company riles the PvE enthusiasts that have been the core fans, too little and the company doesn't expand the subscriber base.
I'm crossing my fingers that the devs will find the right mix.
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
6. How will people be able to grief?
7. How will griefers be dealt with?
[/ QUOTE ]
If I knew all the answers to the first question, I'd be able to come up with all the solutions to the second. While we're doing everything we can to think of possible ways to grief (and using our experience from other MMO's), I have unbounded optimism in the creativity of some players to find new and exciting ways to make life miserable for others. 
[/ QUOTE ]
If You look at the Evil Genius thingie You'll never run out of mission ideas to implement 
I'd say griefing could well be made into a mission - it just has to be fun for both persons involved. Check this out - You've set out a base and start running Your evil plans...only thing You lack are test subjects. Obviously using Your minions would get the morale in the base down so you go out and capture some noob villains. They will be teleported to your base (to the test tube,table or whatever you fancy) instead of xxx (let's just say that you need a teleporter for this too - another mission). Now in your base your chief science guy throws the switch and voila...transforms temporarily into ...um, something. Then You release em to run rampant and sew chaos. Another evil plan completed, congratulations
[ QUOTE ]
This isn't really a new revelation, minMAX, but I share some of your concern. Too much reward for PvP and the company riles the PvE enthusiasts that have been the core fans, too little and the company doesn't expand the subscriber base.
I'm crossing my fingers that the devs will find the right mix.
[/ QUOTE ]
VERY well said Clintonian! I wish I could have boiled it down that concisely.
Will heroes that have already been established, be able to fall from grace ?
I just started playing, but im really interested in the PvP when CoV releases. And was wondering if they guy i play now could " go bad ?"
[ QUOTE ]
Okay, you shake the Magic 8-Ball and this is what you get...
[/ QUOTE ]
Put....me....down.
Lousy pushy villians, Will I answer any more questions for Lord Recluse?
"Don't Count on It"
Not at release, but possibly at some point after.
(and you probably won't be able to experience most of the CoV content with a fallen hero)
To my mind, the Devs have never said that there would not be rewards unique to PvP.
IIRC, they DID say that any rewards unique to PvP would not be helpful in PvE.
Would you be concerned about a badge for PvP? Or even a Temp Power that is the same as one you can get in PvE, but called something different with a different look (like Sprint/Powerslide)?
That's what I'm thinking.
Story Arcs I created:
Every Rose: (#17702) Villainous vs Legacy Chain. Forget Arachnos, join the CoT!
Cosplay Madness!: (#3643) Neutral vs Custom Foes. Heroes at a pop culture convention!
Kiss Hello Goodbye: (#156389) Heroic vs Custom Foes. Film Noir/Hardboiled detective adventure!
theres even rewards in pve that you can only get with certain AT's its the same basis you cant always get everything you want I know its hard to understand the fact that someone else might have something that you dont but its true they do. Tankers cant get the healer badges and they probably wont get the debt badges too quickly either. While blasters wont get the healer badges but will probably get the debt badges quicker than the tankers. My point is there should be rewards for pvpers that people who are so against pvp shouldnt get i mean the pvpers are doing somehting that the pve'ers arent, just like the defenders with empathy are doing something the inv. tankers arent doing. And you can get the powers, badges, or titles that everyone else can get in pvp you just chose not to get them by chosing not to pvp so in a sense your screwing yourself over. Its to encourage pvp so if you dont pvp than it wont affect you in anyway.
[ QUOTE ]
Tankers cant get the healer badges and they probably wont get the debt badges too quickly either. While blasters wont get the healer badges but will probably get the debt badges quicker than the tankers.
[/ QUOTE ]
Actually ANYONE can get the healer badges - tanks and blasters included. There is a medicine power pool that anyone can take, regardless of their AT and powersets. And any healing done will count toward the healer badges.
It's been stated that there will be a way for heroes to fall from grace - and I think for villains to find redemption. It may not be in place "Day 1", but it will be there eventually. And it will probably involve a trial of some sort.
And that's what raises some questions for me regarding ATs. Let's say I buy CoV, and decide to that my level 50 Defender from CoH should "go rogue". I take him through the trial to make him a villain.
How will this affect his AT?
Will he remain a Defender, with the same Empathy/Radiation powers he has now? Or will he need to be converted to one of the new villain ATs? That conversion would basically be like the current respec, only we'll also have to change AT, primary and secondary powersets.
I'm not really sure which way I'd rather see them go with that. Changing the AT, primary and secondary powersets would basically be creating a new character - even if he has the same name. So it's not so much that you've taken your character to the dark side - you just wiped your character and started over with the same name. Which may not be a bad thing if that's what you wanted to do.
There could also be issues with leaving them as their original AT. If I make my level 50 defender a villain defender, what game does he actually belong to? Is he now a CoV character? Or is he still a CoH character? Let's say my financial situation changes, and I can't afford to pay the extra amount for the subscription to both games, and I decide to keep CoV. Do I keep my villain defender with my CoV subscription?
Other questions I have with ATs are about Kheldians. Will we be able to have villain Kheldians? Will we have to wait until we get a villain to level 50 before we can create an evil Kheldian? Or if we already have a 50 in CoH will we be able to create one in CoV from the start? Will CoH Kheldians be able to do the trial to become a villain?
Those questions could also apply to any other epic ATs that are introduced between now and CoV's release. I think we might be getting one with Issue 5.
[ QUOTE ]
Will he remain a Defender, with the same Empathy/Radiation powers he has now? Or will he need to be converted to one of the new villain ATs?
[/ QUOTE ]
A dev commented on this question (I believe it was Statesman) many moons ago that the 'faction switch' Trial will be the only way to, for instance, have a an Elec/Elec Blaster Villain. So you would remain an Emp/Rad Defender in your example, without any sort of Respec'ing required.
As to what game he belongs to if you were to cut back to one game... I would assume that the 'rogue' Defender would now be a Villain and part of the character database of CoV. I will make sure that this question is asked of the devs by thread or by PM for inclusion of the next '2005 Primer on CoV - How's This Gonna Work?' thread that'll be put out after the E3 Expo next month when the devs'll be less stingy with info. 
Got couple questions to ask Lord Recluse:
*Lord Recluse Vs. Stateman who wins?
*Is there any feamle Villanese rank like(Lord Recluse Or Stateman)?
*CoH2?
Just for fun, I thought I'd put in what answers we have gotten so far.
1. When will it be released? (Can't really be answered until it's actually released, but still deserves to be the #1 question.)
A: Sometime this year.
2. When will beta start? (see above)
A. July (ish)
3. What do the new archetypes mean?
A. Brute and Stalker are tankish scrappish meleers. Dominator is controllerish. Devastator seems to be an Offender. Mastermind is presumably pet oriented.
4. What are the powersets?
A. Mostly unknown. Ninja sword, regen, archery, trick arrow, sonic blast, sonic buff/debuff are all confirmed. Dark fire, I think?
5. Are villain origins the same as hero origins?
A. yes.
6. How will people be able to grief?
7. How will griefers be dealt with?
8. If villains can receive missions, what are they like? What are the different types?
A. Basic structure is a lot like CoH, but there should be some new mission types and some villanous twists.
9. Minions: how do you get 'em, what can you do with 'em? What do they look like? How do they act? etc, etc, etc.
10. What does it mean when they say villains are proactive?
11. Bases: how do you get 'em, what can you do with 'em? What do they look like? How do you attack/defend them? Do you need to own CoV to get one? etc, etc, etc.
A. Supergroup can buy 'em for much influence, plus rent. Lots of variety in appearance. Base raid demo from E3 is described elsewhere.
12. How do you interact with NPC heroes?
A. You beat them up! Yay!
13. How do you interact with non-hero NPC's?
A. Same as CoH. This was probably a dumb question.
14. How does CoV overlap with CoH in terms of geography?
15. PvP: a million questions. When, where, with whom? How do missions and minions enter into it? If you avoid PvP, how much content do you miss out on?
A. 4 PvP zones to start with.
16. Costumes, etc: What kind of body size and shape options do villains get? Costume options?
A. Wolf heads, lots of skulls, barbed wire. Looks like fun!
17. Will villains have enhancements like heroes?
A. Yes
18. Will villains have inspirations like heroes?
19. Will there be loot?
20. How do villains gain xp?
A. same as CoH
21. Do villains have influence? Or what?
A. Infamy. Same difference.
22. What is the the goal for the villains? Besides leveling up, what are they trying to do?
23. Will CoV share CoH servers?
24. What power pools do villains get?
25. Do PC villains ever go do jail?
26. Monthly pricing for CoV, and for CoV+CoH?
Some of them still haven't been answered really. And we have some good new questions, which I can't think of off the top of my head.
Avatar: "Cheeky Jack O Lantern" by dimarie
Well, the NDA is lifted, so I thought I'd resurrect this thread and start filling in some answers. Turns out that some of these were dumb questions, really, but what the heck.
1. Game is officially scheduled to be released on Oct 31, 2005. When will it actually be released? Ask me the day after it's released, and I'll tell you.
2. When will beta start? It started. End of August, as I recall. Open beta will probably start within a week or two.
3. The new archetypes:
Brute: powers like a tank, but reversed, attitude like a scrapper on PCP, hands down my personal favorite AT. Fighting --> Fury --> SMASH!!!
Stalker: powers like a scrapper, attitude more like a stealthy sniping blaster. They sneak, do huge damage, and then deal with the consequences as best as they can.
Corruptor: Powers like a defender in reverse, but without that namby pamby empathy nonsense. More debuffing than buffind. A solo Offender's dream come true.
Dominator: Heavily armed controllers, without that defender nonsense.
Mastermind: A whole new ball game. Henchman galore, plus attacks and support powers. Expect to see City of Masterminds for at least a few months after release.
4. Powersets: mostly recycled from CoH, actually. Some are new, some are tweaked. My favorites: Stalker ninjitsu defenses, Dominator plant control, Traps for Masterminds and Corruptors, and every Mastermind primary.
5. Origins are unchanged.
6-7. Griefing. All of the usual stuff, like Training, or teleporting someone into a bad spot, can still happen. PvP opens the door to ganking, though the devs are trying not to let it open too wide. The main defense against griefing is still /petition and banning. The code of conduct is not changing to allow griefing just because people are supposed to be villains now. There are some special PvP penalties around reputation, but I don't know how that works yet. So far I'm sorry to say that people seem less friendly in CoV than they are in CoH. Hope that gets better when it goes live, but I can't imagine why it would.
8. Villains receive missions in the same way the heroes do, and the missions are very similar. Instead of recovering a stolen diamond, you steal it, but either way you are fighting through a bunch of guards and clicking on a blinkie. There are some new mission types, which will probably work their way over to CoH in time, but I haven't seen anything too radical. There is a newspaper which functions like a contact, but gives you some more control over what missions you take.
9. Only Masterminds get Henchmen, though there are some temporary pet summoning powers available. Henchmen (robots, zombies, ninjas, or mercenaries) are summoned like pets, but can be controlled much more precisely. You can tell them to follow you, or attack your target, or go to a targeted location, and you can set them to be aggressive, passive, or defensive. You can give orders to all of your henchman or just one at a time, or one group and not another. There are three levels of henchmen, usually called minion, Lt, and boss. At most, you can have three minions, 2 Lts, and 1 boss.
10. Proactive. Well, you can choose which mission to take from the three offered by the newspaper. You can choose to engage in PvP. Otherwise, I don't see a lot of difference, at least in the lower levels. The mission text is a little bit different. Less, "bad guys stole X, go get it back." More, "Hey! There's an X! Why not go steal it?"
11. Bases. Each supergroup can have one base. They aren't cheap. They have only recently been enabled in beta and they are still buggy, but it looks like you have huge control over how they look. They can also do cool stuff, like offer inspirations, or help you travel from zone to zone. The new crafting system is all connected to bases, and you do need to own CoV in order to set foot in a base. PvP: You can do instant raids with anyone who agrees to it, at any time, with no stakes (no xp debt, no item destruction, etc). Or you can go on a real raid, in which case you don't know who you will be fighting, though you do know when, and there is a chance for an item of power to change hands. Items of power give benefits in the PvE game to all members of whatever SG has one.
12: You can fight NPC heroes, especially Longbow agents, but not as much as you might expect.
13: Interaction with other NPC's is the same as in CoH. You can't hurt them or mug them or anything like that. They just ignore you unless you click on them, and then they say something snide.
14: I can't believe I had so many questions. Now I'm even more impressed that LR took the time to answer them all, even if most of his answers were teases. Anyhow, geography. CoV is set in the Rogue Isles, off the coast of Paragon City. There are places which overlap. They are all PvP zones. Four of them, I think. Each also has optional PvE content to do, but it's pretty dangerous to wander around in a PvP zone. I think there are also CoV missions where you can enter an instanced mission which is set in PC proper.
15: PvP. Can happen in arenas, supergroup bases, or PvP zones. You can skip the arena and miss nothing if you don't like PvP. You can do a lot with a base without getting into PvP, but if you do PvP than you might win some advantages in PvE from having one or more item of power. You never have to go into a PvP zone, but you will miss some interesting PvE content if you don't. I don't think there is ever PvP in missions, and it's never random or unexpected. You can pick your opponent in the Arena or in instant base raids, or have random opponents in PvP zones and regular base raids.
16. Villains have the same body options as heroes, but a ton of new costume options. Pirates, monsters, lizardy stuff, tons of chains and skulls. It's pretty cool.
17-18: Enhancements and Inspirations are identical to heroes, though the inspirations might have different names. I forgot to look.
19: Loot. Sort of. You can get dropped salvage sometimes, and use it to build stuff in a base. I'm not sure exactly what you can build, though.
20: XP gain is the same for villains as it is for heroes. No xp from PvP.
21: Infamy instead of influence, but no practical difference. Bases are paid for with prestige, not influence/infamy. You gain prestige the same way, but only when you are in SG mode.
22: I guess the goal is to prove yourself to Lord Arachnos, and then help him take over the world. And then, presumably, to off him and rule the world yourself.
23: Yes, CoH and CoV are on the same servers. If you have both games, you get 12 slots to divide up between heroes and villains however you want.
24: Same power pools in both games. Don't know about the epic powers yet. Level cap is still 40.
25: Jail. Not that I've heard about, but it wouldn't surprise me to see something like the cell blocks in the Council and CoT missions.
26: They have announced that CoH and CoV each cost $15/month, but having both is still just $15/month. No extra cost.
Avatar: "Cheeky Jack O Lantern" by dimarie
When you play a villan are you given a choice or is a mental disorder assigned to you (e.g. meglomania, kleptomania, paranoia, bed-wetting)?
When you set elaborate traps for a hero and have them in your clutches is it mandatory you have to leave to do a mission, and thus allow them to escape?
Villans seem to have unlimited resources, will we?