New WarCry Dev interview
By
Anouke_NA,
Posted on: 2007-04-09 18:18 in CoH and CoV General Discussions
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Get over the villain EATs ... They're most likely (not for sure, but most likely), never going to be done. Posi said that they simply are more work than they're worth, and have been pushed each issue since I4.
[/ QUOTE ]
If we're talking Coralax Hybrids or Blood of the Black Stream then sure, those are probably pipe dreams. Villainside Nictus however, is just a port of certain Kheld sets and it could probably use the Warshade graphics. I'm gonna go and say it: this would be very EASY for them to do! 
Yes, I have hidden knowledge about how easy it is to port existing sets. 
Hehe... well, it seemed pretty easy when they ported Dark Melee and Armor to Stalkers. I expect it's "as simple" to do the same with Kheld sets.
[/ QUOTE ]
Yes, but the issue is not the sets themselves. Its the villain content that goes along with the kheld sets that would be complicated. To give the villains that khelds without content would cause an uproar, since that would be unfair since the heroes get all those kheld arcs.
[/ QUOTE ]
IIRC those Kheld-specific arcs were added later. Did they debut the same time as the Kheldian AT itself?
As far as Villain Khelds having little appeal, I see this as a low hanging fruit, that would appeal to some people, and they could then say that both Heroes and Villains have an EAT. After all thet talk about Coralax, Incarnates, the now-defunct Avilans, and BotBS, it's the least they can do!
[/ QUOTE ]
The level 1-15 Kheld arcs debued with Khelds in I3, and the rest came in I4.
And frankly, that was a big mistake, since it took them until I4 to get Khelds semi balanced, and meant that people who started with the AT early were locked out of AT specific content if they'd outlevelled any of the arcs that were added in I4.
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
[ QUOTE ]
Blood of the Black Stream then sure, those are probably pipe dreams
[/ QUOTE ]
We might actually get a BotBS EAT someday. At leasts there's invention salavage for them, so all hope is not lost.
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Me? I've been in 2483. I thought you were going to meet me there? Did your Time Machine break again?
[/ QUOTE ]
Yea, I spilled beer in it again. Then the Morlocks attacked...
[/ QUOTE ]
Pesky morlocks.
I sent you that repair kit, you should get it yesterday. Why, I see that you got it fixed - and Thanks for the Fruit Basket! That wasn't necessary!
This Threadjack has been brought to you by the letter 'Q', and the number '7'.
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 ]
[ QUOTE ]
Blood of the Black Stream then sure, those are probably pipe dreams
[/ QUOTE ]
We might actually get a BotBS EAT someday. At leasts there's invention salavage for them, so all hope is not lost.
[/ QUOTE ]
I sincerely hope so. I've been looking forward to that AT ever since I first heard about it.
Level 50: Furlon the Grim, BS/Regen Scrapper, Virtue
Current creations:
Slaughterface, DB/Elec Brute
Captain Warhead, Rad/Rad Defender, Virtue
Capt. Scar, Arch/Ice Blaster
Global @ Capt. Scar
[ QUOTE ]
This Threadjack has been brought to you by the letter 'Q', and the number '7'.
[/ QUOTE ]
To quote Lady A:
[ QUOTE ]
Pbbbhhhttt!
[/ QUOTE ]
I'd like to see more content period lvl 35-45 would be great.. going to the Moon or Underwater that just has a nice comic book feel to it.
Raising the lvl cap to something would be great but then every one would say "I need something for my lvl X" to do.
The "blue sky" cross server database would be great but that will never happen.
LvL 50's Inv/Em Tank, Katana/Regen Scrapper, Merc/Traps MM, Ninja/Dark MM, Crab
@Torell Guardian, Liberty & Freedom
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
This Threadjack has been brought to you by the letter 'Q', and the number '7'.
[/ QUOTE ]
To quote Lady A:
[ QUOTE ]
Pbbbhhhttt!
[/ QUOTE ]
I'd like to see more content period lvl 35-45 would be great.. going to the Moon or Underwater that just has a nice comic book feel to it.
Raising the lvl cap to something would be great but then every one would say "I need something for my lvl X" to do.
The "blue sky" cross server database would be great but that will never happen.
[/ QUOTE ]
I was happy he answered that question, but it does tell me what they consider the hardest thing there!
Ah, to dream of one City of Heroes/Villains.
Still here, even after all this time!
[ QUOTE ]
On a serious note I'm glad to see more content coming, but I hope there are some new Scrapper and Tanker powersets at least...sometime this year.
That should definitely be a dev goal, new powersets on a yearly basis.
[/ QUOTE ]
yeah, reading that there were no new AT;s coming is fine, but what of the powersets Posi spoke of (1 for each AT) for theexpansion box? Since its sprea dout over 2-3 issues, i would expect at least 3-5 new powers added for each issue.
heres hopin...
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
This Threadjack has been brought to you by the letter 'Q', and the number '7'.
[/ QUOTE ]
To quote Lady A:
[ QUOTE ]
Pbbbhhhttt!
[/ QUOTE ]
I'd like to see more content period lvl 35-45 would be great.. going to the Moon or Underwater that just has a nice comic book feel to it.
Raising the lvl cap to something would be great but then every one would say "I need something for my lvl X" to do.
The "blue sky" cross server database would be great but that will never happen.
[/ QUOTE ]
6 pages so far about what I10 will bring and only 1 person calls for raising the level cap?! I'm shocked! There have been calls for raising the level cap since the second issue! Of course, there has been so much content development at all the levels between 1 and 50 that rolling multiple characters is essential. Adding another 10 levels will add that much more content, open new zones, formulate new storylines, etcetra etcetra...
Here's hoping for level 60 in I10!!!!
They pretty much have said that the level cap will never be raised, as it just raises the problem of "theres nothing to do at level 60"
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
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Issue 10 will focus on a level range that you guys have been clamoring about for a while.
[/ QUOTE ]
Hooray!
[/ QUOTE ]
I'm thinking 35-45 will finally get something.
How convinient that that's more or less the Rikti levels. They start at 30 and kind of fade out at 45-50. I hope it's Rikti, for the scourge that a few years ago were a global threat, they don't get very much exposure right now. Yeah, they have the Crash Site, but who goes there, apart from the 44+ Respec?
[/ QUOTE ]
I think the 35-40+ range as well.
CatMan - some form on every server
Always here, there, and there again.
Well, I hope they're adding more 45-50 content cause, IMHO, the STF just ain't enough
[ QUOTE ]
Gotta say, I look forward to I9, and I10 , but the comment about probably no new ATs makes me sad.
I really truly want my villain side Khelds.
and server transfers.
and new power sets for tankers (and I guess scrappers).
and for doms...
and any/more missions for the SG/VG mission computers.
and more/revamped enemy groups.
and more mission map tilesets. That university map would be a nice start.
and more outdoor instanced maps.
and more options for costume piece texture/reflectivity.
Oh the list goes on and on.
[/ QUOTE ]
I totally agree ! and hopfully they add 45-50 lvl content.
Don't hold your breath on the level cap being raised. They've pretty much said it ain't going to happen.
yeah, my dreams have been squished already. Next best thing, would be more higher level content 
Just out of curiosity, how long ago was it said that 50 would be max? Might it be possible that they have now changed their collective minds, or has the cap been confirmed recently by a red name?
I know it's one of those "next tuesday of never" things, but I can always hope....can't I? 
Also, two out of the three interviewees have answered my questions.
That means virtually nothing, yet it still causes me to feel vindicated.
LadyMage wrote:
[ QUOTE ]
Don't hold your breath on the level cap being raised. They've pretty much said it ain't going to happen.
[/ QUOTE ]
Maybe it they =did= hold their breath, we wouldn't hear about raising the level cap any more. The power of positive thinking!
--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
[ QUOTE ]
yeah, my dreams have been squished already. Next best thing, would be more higher level content
Just out of curiosity, how long ago was it said that 50 would be max? Might it be possible that they have now changed their collective minds, or has the cap been confirmed recently by a red name?
I know it's one of those "next tuesday of never" things, but I can always hope....can't I?
[/ QUOTE ]
Wasn't that long ago. Last fall at most.
[ QUOTE ]
yeah, reading that there were no new AT;s coming is fine, but what of the powersets Posi spoke of (1 for each AT) for theexpansion box? Since its sprea dout over 2-3 issues, i would expect at least 3-5 new powers added for each issue.
heres hopin...
[/ QUOTE ]
New ATs and powerset were all nixed. Posi announced that in this interview a couple of months ago.
After a small uproar by some of us fans, States and Posi came to the boards to calm us down. The last word was something like "we'll see" about adding a new powerset or two in the next year or so.
Personally, for the past couple of years, I've been looking forward to new things like street fighting for scrappers, pistols for any AT and the long-rumored incarnate AT. Ah, well.
[ QUOTE ]
Would it be fairly obvious to say that it ill be levels 50-55?
[/ QUOTE ]
I'll go ahead and squash that one now. Level cap is NOT going up in I10!
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Would it be fairly obvious to say that it ill be levels 50-55?
[/ QUOTE ]
I'll go ahead and squash that one now. Level cap is NOT going up in I10!
[/ QUOTE ]
Eh... I'm on the fence. Yes, I want new content and stuff for my 50's to do but... I'm running out of room in my trays!
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Would it be fairly obvious to say that it ill be levels 50-55?
[/ QUOTE ]
I'll go ahead and squash that one now. Level cap is NOT going up in I10!
[/ QUOTE ]
I was quoted by a Red Name! I was quoted by a...
Oh... oh... [u]oh[u]...
Can someone copy and paste the interview for recluse, im in english right now and I cant look it due too fire walls or something. >_<
My Lego Models http://www.flickr.com/photos/30369639@N07/ lemur lad: God you can't be that stupid... I'm on at the same time as you for once, and not 20 minutes into it you give me something worth petitioning?Lady-Dee: Hey my fat keeps me warm in the winter and shady in the summer.
Transcript from http://coh.warcry.com/scripts/news/v...6&id=70412
Marcian_Tobay: Hello, and thanks for making a superior product!
As a producer of this game, I am sure that you are often faced with a choice of deadline versus original intention. Or, more relevantly, your development team is clearly choosing to perfect Inventions and get them out in the highest quality rather than to release them early in the year and placate those that are impatient for the next expansion. Would you be willing to expound a bit on how to decide when you are going past "deadline" and at what point you decide that the specific product has taken "too long" to produce, and release as is?
Serdar Copur : No release is ever perfect, but we are always looking for ways to improve our process, and as a result, the quality of our product. One of the adjustments in our development strategy for Issue 9 was to add a Closed Beta Phase between the Internal Testing and Open Training Room Phases. Here is how the whole process works:
We start with a heavy focus on internal testing and when we are internally satisfied with the quality of our content, we then open it up to our closest friends and family for a very private beta test. After that round of iteration, we incorporate high-profile contributors from the community for a closed beta test. Once we are happy with the results of that testing, then we open it up to the rest of the community on the Training Room (which is our open test server.) The content stays on the Training Room for several weeks to allow for stress and stability testing. All along the way, we are gathering hundreds of bugs and suggestions from our testers. As our bug lists diminish and the general community consensus is one of excitement, we know we are ready to go Live. This process is reasonably predictable, therefore not impossible to schedule. We are lucky to be working with a publisher as supportive as NCSoft, who allows us the necessary flexibility to adjust our deadlines to meet the needs of the game. That doesnt mean we have all the time in the world, but it does offer us room to release a product when everyone feels it is ready.
So as you can see, the answer to your question about how we decide when a product is ready to release is dependent upon the convergence of various factors (bug lists, community response, publisher support, etc.)
arthurh3535: What is the hardest 'programming' thing that you want to eventually add to the game?
Serdar Copur: Blue-sky questions are so much fun. The most difficult thing to develop that I would like to add to our game is a completely new database architecture which allows every single player who plays CoH & CoV to be able to play on the same game server. This means no more server selection screens, no more re-rolling because your real life friends are not on the same server as you, and no more trouble finding a group at 3:00 AM because everyone else is sleeping. Its not an impossible endeavor but my programming team assures me that there is nothing more time consuming and complicated that we could develop for our game at this point. I guess we can always dream.
CrabNebula: What tools do you use to build maps and characters do you use a third party product or something in house?
Serdar Copur: Here is a little glimpse behind the curtain for those of you curious about the way games are made. We utilize raw asset creation tools like 3D Studio MAX and Photoshop to build models and textures. Characters are primarily built in MAX and then exported to our game library. Special Effects are generated by a combination of third-party tools and internal tools. However, most of our world building happens in the game. Thats right. Our game is our World Editor. We built the entire game like a proprietary, real-time, editing tool. In the development environment, I can be running around Atlas Park one minute, and then hit a key which allows me to select, move and edit buildings the next. Overall, I am very impressed by the power, quality and flexibility of our tools. They are second to none.
GreenLantern: Hi, Serdar! I spend most of my time in Paragon City, but I have a few characters in the Rogue Isles. A common complaint is that the CoV characters don't feel "evil" enough in their missions. What are your thoughts on that?
Serdar Copur: This is a concern that gets a lot of attention internally. We put a great deal of value on immersion. We also have to keep in mind the difference between real evil and comic book evil. We tend to lean more towards comic book evil since those were the principles upon which City of Heroes was created. When we launched City of Villains, arguably, the villains were not as evil as we would have liked them to be. We alleviated some of this problem with the introduction of Mayhem Missions in Issue 7 where misguided villains got to rain destruction upon Paragon City. Additionally, the villain trade center for Invention in Issue 9 will be a Black Market Truck to further reinforce the fact that villains get their goods when they fall off the back of a truck. Although these are just two examples, rest assured that we are taking the necessary steps to make CoV characters feel more evil at each update.
LadyMage: Positron mentioned back in an interview last year about looking into changing SG membership from 75 characters to 75 accounts. Could we get an update on that? Is it feasible, is it coming, is it backburnered or scrapped, and why? It's a feature I know a lot of SGs, preticularily larger ones are looking forward to.
Serdar Copur: Something along the lines of this is definitely coming. In fact, I will go so far as to say that both Supergroups and Bases will be getting some much needed love over the next few updates. We are fully aware that MMOGs are all about the social element and we want to support that as much as possible.
Alpha_Ryvius: Here's a question for you Mr. Copur aka Lord Recluse
If you're the guy that decides what resources go where for the CoH/V projects. What do you use to base your decisions on? One of the things I've been dying to see is new power sets, especially for Scrappers and Tankers, Villian EAT (Epic ArcheTypes), and some high level content, specifically for players who hit the lvl 50 mark. Positron in his WarCry interview said that these kind of things are the first to go when discussing what goes in the next expansion due to time and resources. So if you're in charge of the resources part and setting the goal for projects. Wouldn't it be possible for you to give Positron the resources he needs to get things done?
Serdar Copur: We have a fixed amount of time and resources that we can use for each update. Therefore, we have to plan, schedule and approve updates many months before development even begins. For example, we are discussing Issue 11 features right now and most of the public has not even seen Issue 9 yet. Also, these decisions are not made in a vacuum. We sit down with the entire team and brainstorm feature ideas that get rated on a scale and matched against our overall goals. When this list is calculated, we come up with a short list of must have features for an update. Now this is where the art of game making meets the science. We have to break down each feature into tasks and times which are then projected against an overarching schedule like a puzzle. We then quickly realize where most of our time is going to be spent and which features are the biggest bang for the buck. At that point, some hard decisions need to be made. What do we cut? What do we shrink in scope? Where is my next caffeine fix? Ideally, I want Positron to get everything he wants because its probably the same stuff you want, but at the end of the day, we have to run a business. The whole process is about equilibrium and creative compromises on a very expensive scale.
Cronic-X: On the last ask a dev they hinted that issue 10 was going to add a lot more to the story line of the game. is there a possibility that new AT's for villains and or heroes could be on the way seeing as adding a new AT or villain group would be a big addition to the games story line.
Serdar Copur: Issue 10 is going to be fantastic. Its true that it will be advancing the story-line. You will probably not see any new archetypes in Issue 10; however there will be a great deal of other fun content to enjoy. I really shouldnt tell you anything right now because its just way too early. Then again
.a small hint cant hurt. Right?
So here it is:
Issue 10 will focus on a level range that you guys have been clamoring about for a while.
Let the speculation begin!
[ QUOTE ]
New ATs and powerset were all nixed. Posi announced that in this interview a couple of months ago.
[/ QUOTE ]
As an aside relevant to the thread, if not the above post, Posi also said this:
"Our biggest concern right now is the level 35 to 40 content (for Heroes) and level 40 to 50+ content for both Heroes and Villains."
Ideally, this means I10 touches up 35-50.
Anyway, that aside done, I didn't see him saying that EATs and new powersets were nixed, so much as they were continually forestalled. Ideally, the solution is to have people design those independently of issue updates, such that they have long-term and short-term goals working simultaneously. In practice, however, that may not be something they can afford.
[ QUOTE ]
Personally, for the past couple of years, I've been looking forward to new things like street fighting for scrappers, pistols for any AT and the long-rumored incarnate AT. Ah, well.
[/ QUOTE ]
Right there with you, man. Wrote SD around the idea of Incarnates right after reading the first novel, and then...
[ QUOTE ]
Me? I've been in 2483. I thought you were going to meet me there? Did your Time Machine break again?
[/ QUOTE ]
Yea, I spilled beer in it again. Then the Morlocks attacked...