Signature powers... for players -- I had this idea
By
AaronH,
Posted on: 2007-01-06 20:29 in Suggestions and Ideas
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very good idea.
for the animation part, because custom animations would be VERY difficult to impliment into the game (so that everyone can make what ever they want). it would be nearly imposible, if there was a specific list to choose from, could be a list of like 100 animations, in each catagory, that would make it a bit easier.
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Yeah the animations wouldn't be custom per say, it would be a list (Most likely of all the existing animations and maybe some new ones). As stated in my post, they would be broken up into time frames from 1 second to the longest being interruptable. The longer the animation the more power the signature power has.
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If they ever do implement this idea I wonder if they could have an NPC named "Ultimus" tell you about it? 
Still would be cool if a redname ever showed up 
(Although Ghost Widow did recognize the thread at one point when someone talked to her)
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But you'd lose your name 
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It'd be worth it in that case
/signed
blah blah blah
DOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!!!!!!!
yadda yadda
some people are nothing but negative, but anyways...
you've got some great ideas and some not so great ones, my biggest is that I think keeping the moves generic all the way into the 30s isn't giving them enough appeal, and the gift idea is kinda lame
aside from that, good work
it's definitely another idea that Cryptic could out of the bag for like Issue 37
On the Care and Feeding of Your Scrapper (V2.0)
Martial Arts - A Comprehensive Guide
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So I had this idea pop into my mind today. I was thinking about how for some players the 32+ game starts to die down because you aren't getting powers as often and leveling is slower. I was looking at Arch Villains and Heroes and remembered each of them had their own signature power. I thought to myself, wouldn't it be cool if Heroes (And villains) could create their own signature powers? Well, here was my idea:
The Basics
Starting at level 33, you earn "points" toward your signature power. You basically get one point per level all the way up to 50. Each point is spent in a tree that modifies the ability of the power. There is a special "lock" system in place so you cannot just focus all your points into one category. (IE, focusing all points into "Hold" so that the power is like mag 20)
Players could choose from various attributes
Teleport Self
Damage
Hold
Heal Self
Heal Other
Accuracy
Speed
AOE
Etc.
A player could spread his points out creating a jack of all trades power master of none. They could chose to focus on certain categories but only to an extent. The various categories will work in a tree like system. The bottom of the tree would be:
Damage -- Heal Other -- Heal Self -- Buff (Speed, Recharge, +Damage, etc... only one of these) -- Hold -- Disorient -- Teleport
Focusing more points into a given category would enhance the effect. However, after X amount of points the category becomes maxed. Spending points in a certain category would unlock the next set.
IE
AOE -- Range (5 is starting range or melee, more points enhances the range) -- Recharge Timer -- Etc
All signature powers start out very generic. They all just about have the same recharge (Which would be very long to begin with until points are spent), and have the same statistics. (Assuming players invested in the same area, IE, Heal vs Heal, Damage Vs Damage, etc)
The Initial Pick, Target Foe, Self Buff, or Target Player
This is the player's very first pick at level 33. They will chose what their signature power targets. Perhaps your defender's special power is a heal on a player. Maybe your Corruptor wants to decimate his foe with an attack. Perhaps your Tanker uses a special shield. Etc.
All signature powers start out with the same animation.
New Unlockable, Level 35
At level 40, players will unlock the animations. Here is where players can customize the animation of their signature power. There would be various animations to chose from. The animation would have an impact on what the power does. Basically, the animations would be split up into:
1 Second Animations
2 Second Animations
3 Second Animations
4 Second Animations
Interruptable
Basically, the shorter the animation time, the less effect the power does, and the longer (all the way to interruptable) the greater effect it does. Thus, a 1 second power receives no bonus but perhaps a 4 second animation power receives a 60% bonus. (Just an example)
By this point too, you are earning more points (One per level) to further customize your power.
Level 40 New Unlockable -- Effect
Here is the next custom option available. You are able to change the effect of what the power looks like. A player would have various choices from:
Explosion (Fire for instance)
Energy (Various range energy attacks)
Buff Effect (Maybe a shield)
Lightning
Etc
Basically, a player is chosing the particle effects associated with the power. Up until this point, all signature powers used the same particle effect. (Something generic)
Level 45 New Unlockable -- Colors
At this level, you can now chose various colors for the power. You can customize the look and change various aspects of it. This will give it a more unique feel.
New Unlockable Level 50 -- Sharing your power with others!
Using the invention system, a player can share his signature power with other players. He is able to create a one use temporary power. There are limitations though:
1) A character can only have one "gifted" signature power at a time.
2) A character can only receive a "gifted" signature power once every 30 minutes.
Basically, this would be a cool way to show your friends "Hey look what I made, try it and tell me what you think"
The requirements to make the temporary power would be the same for all signature powers.
Naming your signature power
A player can name their signature power at level 33. (When they first get them) This name can be changed at anytime.
How enhancements work in signature powers
Signature Powers will not be effected by any kind of enhancement. Their accuracy, damage, heal, duration, etc is all determined by how a player spends their points. They also cannot be buffed or debuffed similar to how Veteran Rewards work. Thus, no outside powers can effect them.
How will they not be imbalanced?
My main balancing factor for these powers will be giving them long recharge times similar to accolades. Basically, these powers are not meant to be part of an attack chain or turn a Brute into a healer. They would mostly be used for tough fights (Such as an Arch Villain). There is a place to spend points to lower the recharge time.
What if I wanted to modify my power?
There would be a place to edit them similar to the way you can edit costumes. It would cost a infamy, influence, or maybe some salvage pieces.
The place would be like a training room or something in the university. The idea is you "train" into modifying your skill.
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Wow. This is a pretty impressive idea. Probably one of the better ones I've read since I started a while back... Did anything ever happen with this?
If not, it really needs to.
Stand UP.
FIGHT BACK!
I've just noticed that I completely forgot to address the animation length aspect in my suggestions.
The obvious way to include that is to say:
Interruptable - 0 points.
4 Second Animations - 1 point.
3 Second Animations - 2 points.
2 Second Animations - 3 points.
1 Second Animations - 4 points.
Actually, this makes some of our earlier powers a lot more balanced - having a maxed out AoE attack be interruptible is a lot less explotable.
I think initially using the preset animations might be an easy way to get this up and running - but having each animation being built up from "character movement" and "particle" effect is not much more complicated, and allows somewhat more flexability.
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Originally Posted by Psychoti
"....so I headbutted the blind chick."
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[ cruise / casual-tempest.net / transference.org / xenogamous.com / wytedragon.net / quantam sufficit ]
Do it do it do it! Picking my own animation for my power? The color? OH HECK YES!
Now this was really well thought out! Good job to all who contributed and I hope that the Dev's find a way to implement it in the game!
/signed
It's a great idea. I'd love to have a power that would be special to my character.
Geez, Diov and Serps sure did post a LOT in this topic. Bumped the absolute heck outta it.
2 more cents put in the jar.
Just wow!
I didn't have time to read this when it was first posted. Signature powers are such a Pie in the Sky idea, but you my friend, you've taken that pie out of the sky and cut a slice for everyone in the game.
Thank you for the pie!
mmmm, Sky Pie.
HAD TO /SIGN THIS AGAIN!!!
Seriously, why does a thread like this get overlooked by lots of folks, while a thread cmlaining about PL'ers has like 300 pages of attention?!?! 
Dear Dev's: Ultimus has a GREAT idea, here! good for content that we all are asking for more of! ...just a thought.
(coughBUMPcough) 
This, my friends, is pure genius. This is like 10 pounds of awesome in a 5-pound sack. Seriously.
Addressing the concern over a sort of Signature Power Respec, could it be included as an option during a normal Respec? Like, after you've done everything else, the game would ask you if you want to change your Signature Power, or just leave it alone.
Let me toss in a suggestion: How about the option to tie SigPowers to one of a character's ordinary powers? That would, for the most part, take care of the animation, although additional effects may be added. My idea is that, when you used the Signature Power, it would also count as using the ordinary power, so they'd both have to recharge. The ordinary power would recharge at its own speed, based on Enhancements, buffs, etc., while the SigPower would recharge according to how many points you put into it. The SigPower would use the normal power's abilities as a base, and it would cost points to tie the SigPower to a regular power -the cost would be determined by the regular power, so a Tier 9 would cost more than a Tier 1. Nukes and Moment of Glory powers might have other restrictions.
Instead of spending points on damage and accuracy,a tied SigPower would have its points go into buffing the base power's abilities, and can add different damage types.
For example, I have an Assault Rifle / Energy Blaster called Samael Deiner, who's from Germany, and is an artificial beastie formed of machinery and magic. Yeah, crazy.
Anyway, Samael's (pronounced with a "Z" instead of an "S") Signature Power would have a name somewhere along the lines of "Magic Bullets". Something like that. It would be tied to the Full Auto power, and so both powers have to be recharged and usable to execute the attack. It would work just like Full Auto, but it would give Samael's rifle an aura similar to Energy Melee attacks, and would cause an additional, I don't know, 50% damage. All of the additional damage would be Energy, while the damage normally caused by Full Auto would still be Lethal.
From a storyline perspective, well, Samael serves the family of the man who created him without question, and his current master wants him to be a hero, so Samael's putting his all into that. He uses a variety of firearms, as well as magic, so it's only a matter of time before he works out how to mix the two.
BackAlleyBrawler: I can't facepalm this post hard enough.
ShoNuff: If sophisticated = bro-mantically emo-tastic, then I'm going to keep to my Shonen loving simplicity dammit.
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This, my friends, is pure genius. This is like 10 pounds of awesome in a 5-pound sack. Seriously.
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... yeah... what he said!
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This, my friends, is pure genius. This is like 10 pounds of awesome in a 5-pound sack. Seriously.
Addressing the concern over a sort of Signature Power Respec, could it be included as an option during a normal Respec? Like, after you've done everything else, the game would ask you if you want to change your Signature Power, or just leave it alone.
Let me toss in a suggestion: How about the option to tie SigPowers to one of a character's ordinary powers? That would, for the most part, take care of the animation, although additional effects may be added. My idea is that, when you used the Signature Power, it would also count as using the ordinary power, so they'd both have to recharge. The ordinary power would recharge at its own speed, based on Enhancements, buffs, etc., while the SigPower would recharge according to how many points you put into it. The SigPower would use the normal power's abilities as a base, and it would cost points to tie the SigPower to a regular power -the cost would be determined by the regular power, so a Tier 9 would cost more than a Tier 1. Nukes and Moment of Glory powers might have other restrictions.
Instead of spending points on damage and accuracy,a tied SigPower would have its points go into buffing the base power's abilities, and can add different damage types.
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I like this idea. Might help to get the initial Sig Power idea up and running and then it could be built on later.
"Comics, you're not a Mastermind...you're an Overlord!"
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This, my friends, is pure genius. This is like 10 pounds of awesome in a 5-pound sack. Seriously.
Addressing the concern over a sort of Signature Power Respec, could it be included as an option during a normal Respec? Like, after you've done everything else, the game would ask you if you want to change your Signature Power, or just leave it alone.
Let me toss in a suggestion: How about the option to tie SigPowers to one of a character's ordinary powers? That would, for the most part, take care of the animation, although additional effects may be added. My idea is that, when you used the Signature Power, it would also count as using the ordinary power, so they'd both have to recharge. The ordinary power would recharge at its own speed, based on Enhancements, buffs, etc., while the SigPower would recharge according to how many points you put into it. The SigPower would use the normal power's abilities as a base, and it would cost points to tie the SigPower to a regular power -the cost would be determined by the regular power, so a Tier 9 would cost more than a Tier 1. Nukes and Moment of Glory powers might have other restrictions.
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Now /this/ is clever.
Rather than start from scratch with a completely new power and animation, you could tweak or add effects on an existing one....hmmm.
Requiring /both/ powers to be recharged is also a neat idea - would really help stop spamming the powers if you're losing a power from your normal attack chain to do so...
Quote:
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Originally Posted by Psychoti
"....so I headbutted the blind chick."
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[ cruise / casual-tempest.net / transference.org / xenogamous.com / wytedragon.net / quantam sufficit ]
Instead of a lvl based point system, how about a cost-benefit system like real powers are based on? Example: Want a nuke? Better make it drain all of your endurance; Want a moderate melee attack? It'll have a moderate energy cost. As long as this system is in place, it would be impossible to make a power or build that is more broken than one make with ancillary pools. Also, certain archetypes could be disallowed from certain types of attacks, i.e. scrappers can't have nukes.
This is an excellent idea.
I think it would be cool if once you got to 50 there was a way to get one or two more signature powers. It would give level 50s something more to work for and such.
Also, I'm not really (or at all) educated on the programming of MMOs, but why couldn't you just have a create-an-animation thing? Like in the Tony Hawk Pro Skater games. >_> Just string together a bunch of small movements/particle effects or something, like a macro?
/Re-Signing
Still sounds great to me, Ultimus.
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Also, I'm not really (or at all) educated on the programming of MMOs, but why couldn't you just have a create-an-animation thing? Like in the Tony Hawk Pro Skater games. >_> Just string together a bunch of small movements/particle effects or something, like a macro?
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Because you'd have to design the game engine to allow that from the start, like the recent comments from the devs about colouring powers. You have to make certain assumptions when creating a game engine, and anything that doesn't fit within those, well, doesn't fit :/
It would be nice, however, to take a string of small animations and link them, I agree.
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Originally Posted by Psychoti
"....so I headbutted the blind chick."
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[ cruise / casual-tempest.net / transference.org / xenogamous.com / wytedragon.net / quantam sufficit ]
Damn came in in the middle of this one. Looks intresting, just be sure not to make sure some things are inaccesable to some archtypes for balance reasons. Like giving a brute psichics to hit through almost every deffence. Or giving the deffenders the ability to create soemthing like granite armor.
Otherthen that I like it
/signed
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Damn came in in the middle of this one. Looks intresting, just be sure not to make sure some things are inaccesable to some archtypes for balance reasons. Like giving a brute psichics to hit through almost every deffence. Or giving the deffenders the ability to create soemthing like granite armor.
Otherthen that I like it
/signed
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I don't know for sure, but as far as I know, you can't make toggles. Also, the powers are like Accolade powers. Mostly for flavor. (Or a tough bind, I guess)
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Damn came in in the middle of this one. Looks intresting, just be sure not to make sure some things are inaccesable to some archtypes for balance reasons. Like giving a brute psichics to hit through almost every deffence. Or giving the deffenders the ability to create soemthing like granite armor.
Otherthen that I like it
/signed
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I don't know for sure, but as far as I know, you can't make toggles. Also, the powers are like Accolade powers. Mostly for flavor. (Or a tough bind, I guess)
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You could make toggles (I think I covered this somewhere) but toggles would have penalities.
1) They would deactivate after X amount of time. I believe as X increases (Longer duration) that the amount of points spent should be become greater.
2) Also possibly the same deal but with an endurance cost. As the endurance cost cheapens to run the toggle, the amount of points spent becomes greater.
Basically you couldn't have a permanent toggle they would function closer to how phase shift works where it shuts off after a certain time.
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You could make toggles (I think I covered this somewhere) but toggles would have penalities.
1) They would deactivate after X amount of time. I believe as X increases (Longer duration) that the amount of points spent should be become greater.
2) Also possibly the same deal but with an endurance cost. As the endurance cost cheapens to run the toggle, the amount of points spent becomes greater.
Basically you couldn't have a permanent toggle they would function closer to how phase shift works where it shuts off after a certain time.
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Easy enough to extend the current system - "duration" becomes how long until the toggle shuts off in, say, increments of 10 seconds?
Quote:
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Originally Posted by Psychoti
"....so I headbutted the blind chick."
|
[ cruise / casual-tempest.net / transference.org / xenogamous.com / wytedragon.net / quantam sufficit ]
This is my Idea For my Healer (Healing Rainbow) for his signiture move. he charges up for 6 second and expodes buffing all of his teammates with everykind of buff for 1 min but in the prosses killing him self and he cannot be rezed for 3 min. would that be possible?
Very very good idea. Couple of my ideas I guess.
Zaxo(AR/Dev Blaster) - Headshot - Zaxo is an increadible marksman and is able to pick out weak points in armor. Highest damage, Highest accuracy, and Highest Range. Interuptable, and very very long recharge.
Haemonculus(Dark/Dark Corruptor) - Ultimate pain - Haemonculus's powers are drawn from the intense hatred he harbors for man-kind, and the intense pain he feels every day. Ultimate pain is the manifestation of all his hatred and pain toward the enemy. Cone power, Superior damage over 10 ticks. Negitive energy. Has a 10% chance to have a mag 3 hold.
Dr. Wiel (Robots/Traps Mastermind) - Golem Armor- Dr. Wiel is a brilliant scientist, and he has created a metal alloy that he can fit over his robots. It is increadibly tough, but unfortnately the materials used to make it are quite rare, and it tends to not be able to work for long periods of time. Buff other, Increases resistance to all by 40%, and increases defense to Lethal, smashing, and energy by 30%. Very long recharge. Lasts 90s.
Flaming Foxtar (Fire/Fire Blaster) - Soulfire - Kitsune are often able to attack people's souls....Foxtar is no exepction. He is able to immobilize a person while their very soul is attacked, this envigorates Foxtar as it is happening as well. Mag 10 hold, High Damage over 30 ticks, damage done is transfered back to Foxtar as health. Lasts 15s.
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now i like this idea one question i have, if it already hasnt been asked, is could u make it where you have more then 1 power BUT they will all be weaker compaired to what you could make one power.
Also if you could give me some sign that you have answered this since it is a long one with many pages??
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Some people have wanted multiple signature powers. It is still up for debate. In my original vision, I pictured only having one signature power. However, you could spread the points out enough to have a generalized power where you wouldn't need a second one.
That doesn't mean there still couldn't be two.