Poll: Issue 9 Breakthrough!
By
4_Thirty_5,
Posted on: 2007-05-30 18:24 in News, Events and Announcement Discussion
My favorite Issue 9 feature:
New tram locations in Founders' Falls and Skyway City!
Followed by the stores in King's Row.
The common IOs are nice too. I didn't see them on the list for exciting shineys, just the sets.
What was your favorite 'feature' of Issue 9?
Invention System.
Suggest tweaking how the system handles drops for teams, though.
What new shiney were you most excited to get?
New IO Sets.
Think they're Greeeeeeeeeeeeeeeat! How the drop system works on teams needs to be tweaked.
Do you like the addtion of a dynamic economic system?
Yes, I think it adds to the game.
While I like that there is something to do with influence now. I dislike how the blind CH allows/ enables market controlling.
Did you find the invention tutorial easy to use?
Yes, I graduated with honors.
How would you rate Issue 9 overall?
4 stars and a thumb.
Ya got close to the 5 stars, with me. I'm impressed.
GO TEAM CRYPTIC!!!
Be thumbed. 
I have to admit I'm still a bit annoyed with the way the wentworth's fiasco was handled. But as for the *intended* effects of i9, I'm happy.
My primary beef is that the drop rates are wayyyyyyyyy too low for Costume pieces.
Overall, though, I like I9.
I like the implementation of most of the new features, I'm not thrilled with the in-game evolution resulting from the new features.
1) I have no problem with in-game economies on principle. But I'm annoyed with the extraordinary distortion of the market because of problems in the supply of certain salvage and recipe drops. Please address the drop rates for costume recipes, soon!
2) I have a problem with Statesman Task Force. It's too unforgiving. Unless you carefully pre-select the team's composition before the TF starts, you have a tough time finishing the TF. If you lose one member during the TF, you have a tough time finishing the TF. If your team loads up on Shivans and Warbug nukes, the TF becomes easy, so from the player's perspective, collecting these temp powers is almost considered a requirement before starting....
3) I've yet to try the villain Hamidon, because frankly, the Rogue Islands are pretty vacant these days. Hard to get 50 players together for a Hamidon event when the population is so low.
On the positive side, I like the inventions, and I like the principle of the auction houses. And thank you for the additions to the green line train, and the stores in KR.
[ QUOTE ]
My primary beef is that the drop rates are wayyyyyyyyy too low for Costume pieces.
Overall, though, I like I9.
[/ QUOTE ]
Oh, so /signed.
***
Lumin (D4,50), Caelestes Lux (PB,50), Corpus Operandi (MM,50)
Things I liked:
Inventions, new costumes, a market for easier buying/selling (although I *don't* like the blind auction system)
Things I don't like:
drop rates are too low, economy is all screwed up
Things I'd like to see for next issue:
New costumes! New powersets! Inventable 'mini' respecs so you can redo slots and enhancements, but not powers (call it 'retraining'). Better Hero/Villain balance, *especially* with regards to Epic sets (where Villains are so far behind Heroes it isn't even funny).
Gothika (Grav/Kin) Marionette (Ill/Rad) Terra Firma (Earth/Storm) Alana Dale (Arch/Nrg)
Iceblink (Ice/Dark) Fantasia (Mind/Fire) Shadow Minx (Claws/Nin)
--Virtue
I would say the only thing I actually had a real use for was the new costume pieces, which are near impossible to get a hold of.
I really could care less about inventions and don't care about crafting. I use IOs only because they are cheaper/better than SOs and don't bother with sets as they are more trouble than they are worth. But then I consider all the Villain Accolades more trouble than they are worth.
I don't Raid ever and have no plans to start. I don't even care for TFs/SFs. There is just way too much down time involved for me, I play to play not to socialize or stare at the screen.
Lack of raiding and Loot were major attractions of this game for me. As long as they remain optional I will stick around. As soon as they become the point I'll likely be gone.
That said:
I understand that the game isn't designed just for me so it doesn't bother me to have an Issue that I find useless. The game is for everyone and these things are popular with others (I assume) and the more players the better for the game.
As long as the game doesn't become something I don't enjoy anymore I don't mind if it is expanded to include other styles of play.
----------------------------
You can't please everyone, so lets concentrate on me.
A good issue but not a 5 star one. I prefer something with more storyline, new costumes and definently more powers. Those would be 5 star, 4 star alone for new powers. 3 for a new feature which is sorta beneficial to me.
Checking the salvage tabs after each drop -- I do that too. Too bad we can't just select the different rewards in a chat window and look over there (creating a window that just has invention salvage/recipe drops is what I'd like, throwing in normal salvage just gets confusing).
The devs have scored a huge victory. (1) Influ sink. They managed to find a way to get players to get rid of all of their excess influence. How many billions--trillions?--in influence have just VANISHED from the game in the form of CH and crafting table fees? (2) Time sink. They managed to find a way to get people to spend hours just sitting in the CH, not actually playing the game or leveling their toons. (3) And they managed to find a way for players to be -happy- as they're siphoning away their influ and time, all for the sake of chasing after a 1% bonus to some power.
People don't play this game any more, they just chase after recipes.
Issue 9
The Good
- Invention system is flawlessly integrated into the existing game and really provides something to do for high level characters. It's never been easier to get a TF going!
- Statesman Task Force is a nice late level TF that also helps provide content for high level characters.
- New wings!
The Bad
-Consignment houses could have been implemented better.
-Most salvage is too rare which drives the prices up to ridiculous levels.
-The sudden shortage of influence is forcing people to play out of sg mode if they want to participate in the invention system.
-No new story content. Hopefully this will be rectified by I10.
The Ugly
-The lag generated by the auction houses
-Talos base portal bug
For the first choice I picked none.
Overall I was not pleased with this issue.
Yes inventions are nice, particularly the set bonuses however I felt that as an issue this one was fairly weak.
Granted Inventions took a lot of effort, and came out very well
but I don't consider them significant content. The STF and New Hami also are fairly meh for me. I play mostly Villains so STF doesn't do me much good although if I ever play my scrapper again I'll be glad it's there. As for HAmi I'm glad to see he was redone but I don't particularly care for raids.
I would have liked to see something done about the AT imbalances as well as something done for the Patron Pools. Most people on Villain side want to see Nictus already and I'm one of them. I understand EAT's take time but Patrons have been out for a year and no one could possibly look at them and say they are better than the Hero Epics. For me that is unacceptable, well here's hoping for I10.
((BTW I consider significant content to be zones with missions,powersets, AT's, New Villain Groups as well as power changes of any sort.)
Of all the new features of Issue 9, I enjoy the new costume pieces most, particularly the boots and tech wings options. It allows me more in-game reasons to have a movement power on my natural or tech characters. I havent changed my style of game play in response to the invention system, but Ive gotten enough interesting drops to be able to afford the costume pieces Ive wanted. I also feel its better to make new costume pieces available through the invention system than any other way Ive seen proposed, including as veteran awards; the costume pieces are special, but not exclusive.
While I won't bash i9 and the invention system, my main thought when thinking of it is, "good, with that out of the way they can start making new story content for i10".
The STF is new content, but entirely too short and since I don't care about the loot, I don't have a reason to run it repeatedly. And the new Hamidon encounter doesn't count; the way to take him down has changed, but the entire backstory remains the same, so no new story content there.
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Well, the 4 choices at the top are all great features of i9. And the only reason the issue gets a 4-star rating instead of 5-star is that there wasn't any other new missions or TF/SFs besides Statesman. I'm all for evening things out, giving heroes a way to get SHOEs from a TF. But the villains still need things even on having some SFs for every 5-level range.
I know inventions theoretically adds content to EVERY mission in the game. But some fresh missions are still important to the players.
When i first started with this game, for the life of me, i could not stop myself from logging in to play. But since then with every passing month, i'm finding it easier and easier to do something else of interest. I was hoping I9 would change this trend in my online behavior but it has not. Mind you, i'm still playing the game, but my interest level wasn't significantly raised by I9.
Think it's down to "it's not you, it's me" thing. I9 from a design perspective is vast and "does" add to the game for its intended target audience, but apparently i'm not part of that group. Aside from the QoL additions like the KR store and tram stops, the only aspect of I9 i dabble in are common IOs and only if i get the required drops from my regular play. STF and the new hami are nice but i was never really into TFs or hami to start with. I try them out a few times because it's new then i go back to my main interest which is altism to fuel my base-building mini-game 
, though lack of character slots is impeding that somewhat.
The costume additions are very nice and graphically well done but i'm not too crazy about the method to acquire them. Inventions in general is a nice addition but to delve into inventions practically requires going into the player-based economy mini-game and i have never liked those in every MMO i ever played including this one.
I do think I9 has added to the game for its target audience, but it hasn't added that much for my side of the game. If this was just a small step towards something more interesting then hooray and bring on I10, if not, then that raises some eyebrows i think.
Wow, too many posts to read them all. I gave I-9 4 stars. There are a lot of "Finally!" additions that I really like. Stores in KR, new train stops, a trainer in PI. Some of the interface showing percentage changes when placing Enhancements.
I love the fact that the Inventions and economy are entirely optional, although they add a lot to the game. I love the never-expiring IO's, and that they get better with higher levels, but never go down.
The Consignment Markets (CM) are a great addition, but the interface needs some work. If I put the time and effort in, I can get some real deals. I can sell stuff that I don't need, in many cases for a very good price if it is otherwise in demand. I don't want "regulation" built into the CMs. I do think that the drop rates need some adjustment. I like the fact that some IO's can provide benefits that you might otherwise have to take as a power -- the power is far better, but sometimes a little is all that is needed (Knockback Protection and Stealth).
STF -- a very nice addition to the Hero side. It is a nice length of usually 2-3 hours. The no-HO bug NEEDS to be fixed, and the drops of rare recipes is frustrating when you get something you have no use for -- my controllers have gotten a couple of Snipe recipes (ugh!).
The new Hamidon is the biggest disappointment. Hami-Raids used to be my big social event, but I have quit going since the new system was put in. Too hard, not enough reward for the effort. It might be OK once people work out strategies, but so far, Hami is a bust.
Costume pieces -- I would love to put some of the new wings on a couple of my characters, but it is just not worth the effort. My wife has a Tank-r-belle character who is aching for Fairy wings, but not anytime soon. There are probably some characters I would build around the various wings if they were available, but since it is almost impossible to get them for a beginning character, it is just not worth it. I would rather see other costume options be drops, and make the wings available generally or subject to a mission, like capes.
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I9 loot for the win.
best issue evar.
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I like I9 overall. I was disappointed in what happened to the Hamidon encounter. It is pretty much obsolete now since IO's can easitly take the place of HO's, and HO's are now more availible thru the Auction House with all the vets selling them.
I love the costume drops and now that I9 has been out for a bit, I can see prices settling and more rares becoming availible.
I really had hoped for a couple of things.
1-Raising the lvl cap from 50 to 60 with new content in those levels.
2- New content in general.
It's the same old stories over and over, same critters to fight, same leveling grind.
The thing that keeps me here are my friends, the fact that we try different combos of teams, and any new content that falls our way.
I am not a PVP'er even though I do dabble in it everynow and then.
I think you guys are doing a great job and I do love this game. I am looking forward to I10 and the storyline leading into the game from the Comic Book.
GAME ON!
It appears that I am not part of the majority. Big shock there. I just don't like how inventions were implemented.
Don't take that as I don't like the invention sets, or generic IOs. The inherent design is just too limited in scope for my taste. For example, my magic hero, who dislikes technology and makes as little use of it as possible, would need to use technology to invent these items.
It would be nice if there were ways to scientifically/technically craft, and magically craft as well.
With that comes the problem of salvage. I can't make sense of it. Some recipes require a mix of salvage types. It would be nice if say, there were two kinds of salvage that could create any given recipe, one that was tech / science and one magic.
My only other major gripe specific to inventions is that recipes aren't really recipes. They are a component. In the case of rare recipes, they are a rare component. Which in turn requires rare salvage. So the better IO sets actually require two rare components. If all recipes were just a list of components, then once found, another shouldn't be necessary. Not unless the recipes somehow magically erase themselves from the mind and / or computer memory.
I will add to the previous comments about influence / infamy needs are beginnning to be viewed by many as more necessary than running in SG mode for prestige. This hampers smaller SGs yet again.
Granted, there are tricks to earning higher amounts of inf while in SG mode, the problem is convincing people to take advantage of them. Not only that, but if common IOs are used early on, instead of IO sets, than there isn't any need for inf except for saving up on sets. It can be difficult convincing people of that as well.
I will also add to that the Hami raid is almost useless now for smaller SGs. It practically requires that small SGs either grow, create temporary alliances, or coalitions. But the reward for the difficulty of doing so isn't worth it since it is the only content in the game that really requires small SGs to do so. Essentially, this content becomes unavailable for the small SG.
Now as to flying, the poses are great, wings, including the costume pieces are great, but where are the magic carpets? Having one would be 
It can use the power glide stance for movement. A few combat animations aside, it shouldn't be too difficult
I like the new train stations best!
I don't like the secret bid system. Over 2,000 years of commerce tells us how a market should work. Why not just implement it that way?
Over all a good issue. A lot for players to take in if they haven't been exposed to a market in a mmo before and the ones who have are taking full advantage of it. It will work it self out eventually.
The CH needs an option to live load or wait for a submittal from the player. Slower PCs probably don't want to list the entire CH when opening the Search function.
I9 it really middle of the road. I like the ability for my lowbies to use the CH to fund their DOs at 12, but the system is screwy. I might have voted for costume pieces as my favourite part, but I'm still strongly against the inclusion into the Invention system of many of the wings. (How on earth can you invent draconic wings? Advanced genetic manipulation? Tech wings, rocket boots, et al, are at least plausible.) The salvage drop rates with relation to the recipe requirements are badly skewed, as has been mentioned ad infinitum. As far as I'm concerned, the whole invention system is not much more than a vaguely irritating distraction.
As far as my favourite feature, I have to say it's the change of regular enhancement drops. No more garbage DOs and TOs at level 40! Now I can run through a mission or two collecting what I want, and not a bunch of junk that's worth less than the inf I would get in the half-second that I spend deleting it. (Not so much because I'm heavily concerned about inf/sec, just to reflect how little high level TOs are really worth to me.)
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I enjoy the invention system and the economy. However, this issue left me a bit flat. Other than the STF, there wasn't anything exciting about it, play-wise. I was promised incentive to run my 50, but so far, griding scanner mishes doesn't do it and replacing HOs with IOs doesn't inspire to respec and spend a buttload of money to do it.
I also think a lot of the bonuses to IOs aren't all that spectacular. Sure, if you stack them up some work. But adding a 1.25 increase to endurance equals a whopping 1 pt. of the yummy blue stuff. Did I just spend a couple million for one point? (why yes Az, you did) There is also a huge gap between sets everyone seems to want to sets no one cares about. I'd like the bonuses to be better balanced or re-evaluated.
And the amount of special drops (costumes/powers/etc) was quite disappointing. I understand that more will be introduced but I really don't want wings. Gimme some Succubus boots for my troller or a Behemoth "wrap" for my brute, something a bit more flexible.
I look forward to 10 and the love promised to SGs and bases.
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