Statesman Interview Transcript!
By
2Negative,
Posted on: 2006-08-18 10:31 in CoH and CoV General Discussions
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"Statesman: I wouldve thought that bases would have gotten more attention, to be honest."
Even if bases where free and everything thing in it , they would still be boring. Running from one side of the base to the other isn't going to make people stop playing WOW and other MMo's.
Combo's
Loot
Skills
Crafting
This would make COH/COV fun for me and would get players attention IMO.
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it never ceases to amaze me that WoW type fantasy gamers STILL come in here asking to have all those garbage things from their hack n slash games brought in here. The *LACK* of loot, crafting, and skills is what makes CoH such a breath of fresh air compared to that tired old Diablo formula. Please go to WoW if you like that stuff, or break your keyboard, or forget your forum password.
[/ QUOTE ]Nice , I see somone needs to go back under there bridge.
Anyways , My angry little trollet above me mentioned, "The *LACK* of loot, crafting, and skills is what makes CoH such a breath of fresh air "
That might be true for the 5 or 10 people in this game , but some people would like to do more.
Well, my idea of a Safegaurd mission was always something like this.
"Captian Hero! The CoT have hired a villain to rob the M.A.G.I. Vault! Please stop them!"
And then you'd go to the Galaxy City instance with 15 minutes and you'd be award more time by helping the police focus on the main problem by removing minions and stopping them from causing devirstions like lighting buildings on fire. So stopping the occasional enemy from blowing up a car to make some racket or saving a cornered police officer or hostage would net you bonus time like blowing up crap.
I'd like to imagine that you wouldn't be able to target a car personally and then blow it up. I'm not saying don't maker it distructable though. I'd love to see that happen as collateral damage from AoEs and Cones. as you fight the enemires you accidently might destory a car and a fire hydrant to save a citizen in distress. Perfectly acceptable loses, happens all the time, I'm sure.
And eventually you'd go to the M.A.G.I. vault and bet your way through some CoT mage and then either grab the item they're after so they can't get it or close the vault somehow and then some villain you might see in jail in CoV would show up, like Hallow Point and try to tear the vault open and you'd have to stop them.
I also saw most to of the sides reversed.
Arson becomes put out the flames. Enter a building and strap on one of Positron's fire exstinguishers and save people from the inferno while villains fan the flames.
Jail Break I could see remaining the same. You find some Council, CoT, or possible stranger groups holding a Hero in one of their prison and team up to save the city.
Kidnapping is an easy reversal. The kidnapee is just surronded by villains instead and you have to get him to safety behind police lines.
Smash and Grabs might be tricker to reverse. I don't really know what to do with them, but they lead into my next idea, raiding. I don't see any problem with a Hero obviously in need of help taking some villain groups booty to help stop the villain. Personaly, I'd like to make it more a stealth mission like a Smash and Grab. Fill it with those red beams that summon ambushes and you have to shut down the security system around the temp power to grab it.
For me, this sounds like fun. What do you guys think? How would you want it differently? I'm really curious.
really? I'd like to see the results of a poll on this.
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the problem is, the Cities have acknowledged that the core of their base is players who DO NOT WANT that stuff in this game.
Making the game more like WoW is going to cause more cancellations than new subscriptions. The SWG effect, if you will.
Dawncaller - The Circle of Dawn
Too many blasted alts to list, but all on Virtue.
Hermod, a lot of your ideas for the side missions seem about right. Most of them can be fairly easily "flipped" to work for heroes. As for the main point of safeguard missions, I don't know. Honestly, trailing around villains and trying to prevent mayhem doesn't sound nearly as fun to me as causing it. Yeah, it might be stretching things a bit to give heroes a legit reason to rampage...but they could do it.
I will weep if they find a way to use the Arachnos maps, though. I hates them.
pwned. what was that you said about 5 or 10 people now, GameOver? Your name is somehow suitable right about now 
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I'll admit that i found this interesting:
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Vyktor: I guess it depends on where you look. I know a couple of, one villain group in particular, they want everyone on prestige. And they basically hand out Infamy to buy their stuff.
Statesman: We though that would be regular behavior. But it just isnt. It isnt, for whatever reasons.
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But the reason we've been given as to why we can't trade more than 100k at a time is specifically to deter this.
I'm confused.
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Yeah, no kidding. They keep the rate low to stop us from transferring. Then they base all their equations on the assumption that we will be transferring to all our alts??? ABUH??
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I'll admit that i found this interesting:
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Vyktor: I guess it depends on where you look. I know a couple of, one villain group in particular, they want everyone on prestige. And they basically hand out Infamy to buy their stuff.
Statesman: We though that would be regular behavior. But it just isnt. It isnt, for whatever reasons.
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But the reason we've been given as to why we can't trade more than 100k at a time is specifically to deter this.
I'm confused.
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/QFT
/QFE
/signed
/whateverotherslashythingsIcando
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...
the problem is, the Cities have acknowledged that the core of their base is players who DO NOT WANT that stuff in this game.
Making the game more like WoW is going to cause more cancellations than new subscriptions. The SWG effect, if you will.
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Like I said when Posi first mentioned adding loot and crap. As long as it isn't the snore-fest of other games, or the lack of loot results in a seriously gimped character, I'll have no problem with it.
CoH/V appeals to a lot of first time MMO's players and hardcore folks. The devs have tried, at least it seems like it by previous actions, to not alienate one group for another. And that's good. Let's face it, I've heard horror stories about my brother-in-law camping some uber something or other in EQ for weeks at a time. Weeks, real weeks. Yeash. No. <bleep> no. If they manage to make their little skills/loot/crafting/yada yada not boring but not necessary, they win. They'll keep and get players. The boring stuff is already available. I could reactivate my EQII account and fish for hours. Ick.
Honestly, I think that's what's held skills up for so long. Trying to make it fit the story, not be boring but not be absolutely necessary. I hope they get it. That bit where States is surprised by players... I don't know. Might be a hollow hope. Wait and see.
Loot is almost always a bad idea.
Skills if done correctly can be a great addition to the game. If i remember correctly the Player Base DID want skills ala the universities, but devs couldnt come up with a "fun" concept.
Crafting, now I am biased because I love crafting. And COX has crafting to a certain extent. Once bases are 100% functional youll see more (yes more, cuz ive seen it already) "i need blank Salvage, willing to pay X influence." its happened already. it will happen more.
SWG was successful to apoint because the game had a community, both ingame and out of game. You could craft or dance and have a great time chatting away. It was something that you could do out of combat without leaving the community.
This issue is a double edged sword. Idont see COX getting massively more subscriptions if they added crafting or loot or skills. BUt I dont think the main Player base wants to continually re-roll a character once theyve hit 50. I know i dont and im an altiholic :P With my 50 i would love to see him craft some magical abilites or learn the arts of Magic (skills) and get a % defense or offense against MAgic Origins's. But that requires balancing and a lot of whining from PLayers who want EVERYTHING everyone else can do.
*shrugs* all i can say is Speak for yourself on what you would like, and not everyone else, because we dont all want the same thing, except make COX last forever 
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Yeah, I'm not too keen on this "Safe guard" mission idea. I will hold my final judgement when it goes live.
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Ditto. However, I was also apprehensive about Mayhem Missions, and my worries proved unfounded. I hope for a similarly pleasant surprise during Safeguards.
Hero versions certainly do sound much less interesting, to be sure. Hell, I have plenty of Heroes who are EAGER to trash some evildoer's lab or smash up a drug factory. Not to mention the long-awaited ability to throw some punk head-first through those crates, or break a forklift with his rear end! (Wishful thinking, I know.)
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the problem is, the Cities have acknowledged that the core of their base is players who DO NOT WANT that stuff in this game.
Making the game more like WoW is going to cause more cancellations than new subscriptions. The SWG effect, if you will.
[/ QUOTE ]Saying players have "acknowledged they DO NOT WANT that stuff in this game" ....Doesn't make it true.
You go ahead and try to speak for 100 thousand other players and type in CAPS, I'm just giving my opinion what I would like .
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Now what I would like to see would be having to get to a certain location to prevent a bomb from exploiding. Having to smash your way through walls or piles of stuff to make it there in time. Or Arachnos has developed this huge building sized Death Ray complex. The Ray is on a countdown to firing at Paragon City. There is no single vital spot. You have to start smashiing all of the equipment in the complex to disable it before the countdown reaches zero. That's the sort of thing I'm envisioning for safeguard missions. Smashing stuff with a purpose.
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We share that hope and vision for Safeguard missions. You must destroy stuff for the greater good, e.g. Nemesis has planted a nuclear device in neighborhood X, but we just can't pinpoint its location. Find it before it blows!
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My thoughts? (Personally?) I'd like to see the mission computer able to initiate a sort of "Base Safeguard" mission.
I'm not 100% sure *how*; but it'd be interesting to be able to have mobs attack your base - and thus base defenses would be useful; even for PVE only groups. (I may like PVE - but I surely don't expect everyone too; and sadly; thats the only thing bases are going to be good for beyond a couple basic functions).
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This is a great idea squirrel! NPC base raids would be fantastic!
50s: Inv/SS PB Emp/Dark Grav/FF DM/Regen TA/A Sonic/Elec MA/Regen Fire/Kin Sonic/Rad Ice/Kin Crab Fire/Cold NW Merc/Dark Emp/Sonic Rad/Psy Emp/Ice WP/DB FA/SM
Overlord of Dream Team and Nightmare Squad
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the problem is, the Cities have acknowledged that the core of their base is players who DO NOT WANT that stuff in this game.
Making the game more like WoW is going to cause more cancellations than new subscriptions. The SWG effect, if you will.
[/ QUOTE ]Saying players have "acknowledged they DO NOT WANT that stuff in this game" ....Doesn't make it true.
You go ahead and try to speak for 100 thousand other players and type in CAPS, I'm just giving my opinion what I would like .
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um... ok GameOver, his post kind of implied that Cryptic Studios are the ones who made the statement lol. You know...
the ones who make this game?
I dunno.. he said "cities" which I assume meant City of Heros/Villains, which I assume he meant the producers of the game. I could be wrong but that's how it looks to me dude.
If "Safeguard" missions are just a big combo of "take X to the exit," "protect the X," and "prevent X from escaping" missions then yeah, they'll tend to be dull or frustrating like the existing ones.
Destruction of villain assets (vehicles, weapons, supplies, barricades, flunkies, etc) is good. Heroes would just have to be more discriminating, careful not to damage police and civilian stuff. Just make sure pets know the difference.
"Safeguard mission" need to find a way to be at least as big as Mayhem missions, if not bigger. Besides the small side stuff (rescue X, prevent Y, protect Z) and attacking villain equipment/personnel for time bonuses, each one should feature something really, really big that needs to be taken out. Things like a gigantic doomsday weapon about to launch, a massive spider walker, a humongous Council war machine, a fortified base complex, communications towers, and so on. I would want the climax of a Safeguard mission to be the collapse of a huge robot, launch gantry, building, Rikti saucer, etc. It still fits the "Safeguard" theme of protecting people, just from progressively more massive threats.
That said, most of my characters would be unable to solo something of that magnitude. But I hate soloing. 
Please try MA arc ID 351455, "Shard Stories: Scavenger's Hunt." Originally created for the Dr. Aeon contest, it explores the wild potential of one of the City's most concept-rich but content-poor settings: the Shadow Shard.
OK, for those who were ever wondering, I added the picture of Stateman and Jules into the piece and cleaned it up a little bit on the spacing. Sorry it wasn't done prior.
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"Statesman: I wouldve thought that bases would have gotten more attention, to be honest."
Even if bases where free and everything thing in it , they would still be boring. Running from one side of the base to the other isn't going to make people stop playing WOW and other MMo's.
Combo's
Loot
Skills
Crafting
This would make COH/COV fun for me and would get players attention IMO.
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Combos, cool.
Loot, is kinda like salvage.
Skills, depends on how they put them in.
Crafting, is lame.
And seeing as how this would make this a hero version of WoW, I'm not seeing how it would grab peoples attention.
"Oh look! It's like EQ2! Only with spandex!"
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"Statesman: I wouldve thought that bases would have gotten more attention, to be honest."
Even if bases where free and everything thing in it , they would still be boring. Running from one side of the base to the other isn't going to make people stop playing WOW and other MMo's.
Combo's
Loot
Skills
Crafting
This would make COH/COV fun for me and would get players attention IMO.
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Combos, cool.
Loot, is kinda like salvage.
Skills, depends on how they put them in.
Crafting, is lame.
And seeing as how this would make this a hero version of WoW, I'm not seeing how it would grab peoples attention.
"Oh look! It's like EQ2! Only with spandex!"
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I'm not really sure why the whole "EQ2 with spandex" and "WoW" thing keeps coming up. If one goes vague enough, CoH/V can be compared to EQ2 or WoW or EQ or Ultima Online or Ragnarok Online. After all, they're all MMOGs, they all have levelling systems, they all have classes with different abilities, they all require a monthly fee or time card to play... I just don't get the argument.
But anyway. I'd like combos to be in the game as well (it's even very superheroic), but seeing as how Oil Slick Arrow has caused Castle no end of grief, I think the tech for this is some time away.
Skills, we've all heard about the Skills System and whatnot. Shelved. Reborn. Shelved again. Whatever. It's a pity that it's not likely to see full light of day, but no worries, it's just an extra, really.
Loot and Crafting, well, I think that these can also be superheroic with tweaks and name changes. Isn't there the Invention system coming up? And then there's Salvage and the temp power stations in bases.
I think CoH/V already has several things unique enough (like being in a superhero universe, having the SK/Exemp system, costume creator) that it's more or less safe from being "just like WoW" or "EQ2 with spandex".
Current main:
Schrodinger's Gun, Dual Pistols/Mental Blaster, Virtue
Avatar: Becky Miyamoto from Pani Poni Dash. Roulette roulette~
A few things:
That is one of the more "interesting" site designs I've ever seen. I don't want to be offensive, but thats a color scheme I'd have expected on a 15 year old's geocities site in 1997. It kind of looks like a pink that rolled around in the mud.
Also: While I applaud the author for providing an accurate transcription, for public release it might be best to clean up some of the disjointed sentances and text so as to appear a bit more professional.
Safeguard Missions: It is likely far too late for any player feedback to effect their design at this point. I hope the developers haven't completely misunderstood that part of the sheer joy of mayhem missions is blowing stuff up. Sadly, it seems that they have. Sure, it may not have been heroic for us to blow up the Rogue Isles infrastructure, but every CoV zone with the exception of Nerva has Arachnos military installations that could have been used as the outdoor maps for Safeguard missions, which we would have been sent to raid commando style by Longbow. For Nerva, we could have raided some CoT area such as Thorn Isle.
I suspect however, that these Safeguard missions will use the same outdoor instanced maps of Paragon that the Mayhem missions do, to avoid the devs haveing to create more mission maps. I'd be happy to wrong about this, but I fear that I am not.
Giving Players What They Want:
Thats a good idea, since it helps the game stay in business, and hopefully grow somewhat.
However, I still contend that the developers would be in a much better position to give players what they want if they conducted some focussed surveys to gauge player desires and priorities. While the forums are a useful feedback mechanism, the signal to noise ratio here is high, and many opinions are contradictory (see: PvP, skills, loot discussions). Discussions can easily get bogged down with different sides who are very unlikely to change their positions spending a lot of time trying to convice each other to do just that.
So, I'm glad you guys want to give us what we want. I'm just not so sure you know what we want in any sort of reliable fashion. Especially when Statesman seems to be suprised by player behaviour in a number of instances, it bodes ill for my confidence that you guys will be able to properly deliver on your new mantra.
Heroes
Dysmal
Lumynous
Sam Steele
Pluck
Wile
Slagheap
Pressure Wave
Rhiannon Bel
Verified
Stellaric
Syd Mallorn
Villains
Jotunheim Skald
Saer Maen
Jen Corbae
Illuminance
Venator Arawn
Taiga Dryad
Tarranos
I didn't reread the transcript, though I do remember the interview distinctly...but here's my take on bases:
They give players their own property...not exactly new ground for MMP's...however, they do offer an unprecedented level of customization.
Clearly, that customization, as well as the several gameplay benefits that the base provides hasn't been perceived to be worth the cost (i.e. Prestige/time played)...hence, Posi and several others (including myself) have taken a spin at making bases more accessible at an earlier stage.
It isn't the popularity of bases so much as the fact that our programming & art team did a phenomenal job of allowing players to generate their own lairs. Maybe not enough players have experienced this content to comment on it, though hopefully Posi's changes will help.
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Also: While I applaud the author for providing an accurate transcription, for public release it might be best to clean up some of the disjointed sentances and text so as to appear a bit more professional.
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I was debating on that. But I did not want anything to potentially be taken out of context, so I simply took out any 'uh' and 'um' sounds, things of that nature. I'm shooting more for accuracy here than anything else.
Yeah, mostly it's that with such a limited pool of prestige, I kind of feel obligated to get something actually useful, rather than something that merely looks nice for us to hang out in.
Current main:
Schrodinger's Gun, Dual Pistols/Mental Blaster, Virtue
Avatar: Becky Miyamoto from Pani Poni Dash. Roulette roulette~
Just want to thank Statesman again for taking the time to speak with us, enjoyed sitting down and chatting with him.
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Interesting... "Im very happy with our new mantra, or our current mantra now moving forward, is Give the player what they want.
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Actually this scares me a little. As an engineer, I am familiar with the bad things that can happen if Marketing starts writing the requirements based on the idea of "give the customer everything he wants".
Fantastic idea to use the Forums for inspiration, but please please please don't let it turn the game into a grab bag of disjointed features designed by committee.
- Jock Tamson, Who didn't know he wanted this game until he received it as a gift, and wants more things he didn't know he wanted.
---
But I do want a Big Red Ball...
I thought bases would be a lot cooler if there were a couple buildings in the zone that allowed access to them instead of the blue, glowey column. Like, an office complex/apartment building in the zones. As you get the teleport beacons, you can upgrade the building that facades the base.
Eh, I don't know. That column was just kinda a surprise.