Issue 12 Discussion: Hollows Zone Makeover
By
Aakan,
Posted on: 2008-03-12 09:27 in Developers' Corner
This is nice to hear. I thought Boomtown was what was next on the block for upgrade.
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1. Remember they hired a bunch of new people and I imagine that the Hollows was a quick and easy way to train them in level design. Not much is really changed, but everything in a level design is sort of touched on. New mobs, new contacts, new missions, etcs. What better way to train your new people then let them touch up a zone.
2. I still wont go to the zone unless I can get the temp. travel powers. The temp travel powers were the best things they could have done to get people to go to Kings Row again. With those temp travel powers I can skip a travel power until the 20s and lets me get more exciting powers early.
3. Boomtown is my favorite zone for hunting large spawns with characters that can do AOE damage until I can go to Dark Astoria. I would like it to stay basically the same, but would like to see some updates too, so sort of mixed on it. I guess if they started construction around the door and had a couple of contacts there to send you on a couple of missions would be nice, plus a mobile hospital too, lol. What would be nice is another temp power you could get there, that would bring the crowds back into Boomtown. I just hate to see my hunting grounds get too crowded.
How about a small contruction zone at the door. A police substation for radio missions. 3 or 4 contacts for a story arc and a small TF at the end. A mobile hospital. Some type of temp power that is awarded for bank mission or the TF.
4. Perez Park needs something too. I hate those woods. My solution is since it is a zone between everyother zone if you look at your map, is make it a big multilevel parking garage with a subbasement that has a sewer for the hyrdra to hang out in.
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I'm thinking they're holding off on Boomtown until I13.
I mean, where else are they gonna stick the launch pad?
's doesn't make things plural.
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Wouldn't have been my first choice for the part of the level 5-15 game that most needed overhaul, to put it mildly. There are things about the Hollows that suck, but it's still better than all ten other story arcs in the 5-15 range combined. But yeah, the Hollows did need a little bit of touch up, so I'm glad to see it. I'm just disappointed, a little, because I think the developer time would have been better spent on revamping the other level 5-15 blue-side contacts instead.
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Is there anything about I12 you like? I mean in every single thread you seem to find something to complain about.
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To be honest I've never had any problem with the Hollows. Yeah, it's tricky to get around and it's huge, but shouldn't low levels be a challenge? The zone was always pretty full of content, which I often leveled past before finishing. It has a very diverse landscape and plenty of missions. Granted, being sent to the same place with every toon gets old, and that could contribute to the loathing that the zone seems to be victim of. But, it is a fantastic place for new players to learn about hunting, teaming, story arcs, and safe travel.
I always felt hating and avoiding the Hollows was more of a trend that cought on and became widespread.
On the other hand, I'm always in support of refreshing zones and giving players something new to look for, so no complaints here. I do hope they breathe some life into Boomtown next. The zone has so much potential. The lanscape is already great, but give us a reason to go inside!! Real time events ala raids, a new Task Force, anything.
Oh, and the GM idea for the Hollows is awesome!! I want to fight Grendell!!
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I'll just add my vote to Boomtown. Many people didn't like the Hollows, but at least it was a zone with story arcs and trial. Boomtown is literally next to nothing.
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Boomtown is one of my favourite zones as it is.
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I can agree with that, its a section thats just SO messed up its on the bottom rung of city planning, I'd rather have a DA story arc set
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4. Perez Park needs something too. I hate those woods. My solution is since it is a zone between everyother zone if you look at your map, is make it a big multilevel parking garage with a subbasement that has a sewer for the hyrdra to hang out in.
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Hollows got a revamp? Hollows? Thats makes no sense. Hollows is a relatively new zone. lol. When does perez park get a revamp? Or Boomtown?
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The Hollows were added in September 2004, less than five months after the game went live, so "relatively new" may be overstating it a wee bit. 
I have no doubt other zones will get spruced up in time. The Hollows were probably picked because it's got so many players going through it. May as well make the experience a little more pleasant. I'm curious to see what they've done. If my level 6 lowbie no longer gets missions that are 1.5 miles away from the Atlas Park gate I will declare the revamp a huge success. 
I liked the Hollows when it first came out. Self-contained zone with contacts, no running across multiple zones and back to do a mission. A challenge in getting around (great for learning aggro distances and using cover). The Ice slide. The first time Igneous pop up out of the ground as you run pass. Learning the importance of retreat to avoid needing to rez in Atlas. Learning to PUG.
What annoyed me most with the Hollows were missions that sent you there, usually into the hills in the southeast corner, from other low level zones. Getting the Jewel of Hera mission spawning in the level 6 area of Galaxy near the PP gate is one thing, getting it in the level 12-15 area of the Hollows at level 7 is quite another. Also at the time it came out, debt started at level 5, the same time you first get sent to the Hollows were all the large mobs were +2s right near the Atlas gate. Oh, the pain, the pain.
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QFT. The Hollows needed help in a bad way.
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Portable hospital? Yay! Now the RMT'ers spamming the Hollows won't have to run back as far when the angry Heroes trash them.
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I've never had an issue with the Hollows, the upgrade to it sounds pretty cool to me. But I think Boomtown needs the facelift more.
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I'd like to see Boomtown upgraded as well...
...but maybe the devs have something else planned for it in the future.
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As someone with more Alts than common sense, I have high hopes for this update.
I'm sooo sick of Hollows... While the initial storyline and much about it is great, the fact is that its a real annoyance to have to go talk to David Wincott every time you hit 5th just to keep from having every contact you have send you to him. Thank you for doing something to help the alt-aholics.
---Mal
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I wouldn't be a bit surprised if they dev's datamined that folks who spent a considerable time in the hollows leveled up slower than those who didn't. Lots of long travel time mixed with lots of death (even without debt) forcing you to cross zone lines, will slow you down considerably.
If that's not enough to explain "why the Hollows?", you also have a combination of brand spanking new players trying to navigate a hellish zone (a lot of them without travel powers, since in many ways Hollows/KR Newspaper missions are mutually exclusive). Since the zone also happens to gate a pretty cool story line, a couple of fun EBs (one in a really cool mission, one in a frustratingly huge mission) and a lot of interesting concepts (large spawns, hidden outdoor enemies, the first really challenging content hero's are likely to face) I can easily see why the dev's would want to make sure folks can experience that content with as little frustration as possible.
Cool news. I will actually step foot in the Hollows now.
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As someone with more Alts than common sense, I have high hopes for this update.
I'm sooo sick of Hollows... While the initial storyline and much about it is great, the fact is that its a real annoyance to have to go talk to David Wincott every time you hit 5th just to keep from having every contact you have send you to him. Thank you for doing something to help the alt-aholics.
---Mal
[/ QUOTE ]I've been using my once every 7 days drop mission to drop the go talk to Wincott since they implemented the drop mission feature.
ABOUT FREAKIN TIME!
nuff said.
i hate that zone!
I can has mish doors not 2 miles across the zone when I level 5?
im pretty happy to see them revamping the Hollows, especially if it gets a bit of a lift similar to what's been done to Faultline. I like Boomtown, i miss dragging a crew through there, aggroing a dozen or so enemies jumping into an empty dumpster and watching the fun. But storywise, it just seems that the Hollows would be one of the next spots for something of a revamp anyway. Hope Boom's next on the list, but im pretty hopeful about the changes theyve listed for the Hollows.
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As someone with more Alts than common sense, I have high hopes for this update.
I'm sooo sick of Hollows... While the initial storyline and much about it is great, the fact is that its a real annoyance to have to go talk to David Wincott every time you hit 5th just to keep from having every contact you have send you to him. Thank you for doing something to help the alt-aholics.
---Mal
[/ QUOTE ]I've been using my once every 7 days drop mission to drop the go talk to Wincott since they implemented the drop mission feature.
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Ditto
And I usually do this for every "Hey! Go talk to this guy so he can tell you about the zone." mission.
I'm putting my money on seeing the Warriors in the Hollows. They are supposed to be connected to the Outcasts, right?
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Part of the next free expansion, Issue 12: Midnight Hour, is the makeover of the Hollows Zone.
From the Issue 12: Midnight Hour Announcement:
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Hollows Zone "Gameplay Makeover"
Significant changes have been made to the Hollows zone to make it more fun! NPC encounters have been rebalanced, including new spawns, new villain groups, mission door improvements, and a mobile hospital has been added to the entrance of the zone. Additionally, Meg Mason, a new contact, has been added to give out repeatable missions.
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Please use this thread to discuss that aspect of Issue 12: Midnight Hour.
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Great! I love the hollows already, now all you have to do is give Villains a sewers, a hollows like zone, a faultline like zone and revamp Perez Park with contacts and such!
I wish.
Well if it was a struggle for other players then the change is sound. Me, I thought the Hollows was invaluable to learning aggro ranges and other such things and I love it just the way it is.
A lot of people talk about how The Hollows is great at teaching aggro ranges but that always struck me as very odd. If it's taking someone five levels of play and hazard-sized spawns before they learn that getting close to an enemy means it will attack you, well, I dunno what to say. It's a dead-simple concept to pick up and it's utterly binary. I picked up on it in the Outbreak tutorial where the enemies are often placed close enough to cause accidental aggro if you're not paying attention.
But maybe I was just especially observant or something. 
Lol I was just on a team of lowbies with my Kheld and two of them kept repeatedly dying by running right into the mobs in the Hollows while trying to get to the mish door. I kept telling them to go more slowly, to rest if hurt or out of end, and to try going around the mobs, etc. but only one of them ever seemed to figure it out, eventually. Sure people are stupid, but they can learn if given a good enough incentive. Keep in mind many young children play this game also so yeah sometimes the Hollows can be a much needed wake up call.
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Woot! I like the Hollows every now and then but the missions are always a pain to get through, I may go back now!
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QFT. The Hollows needed help in a bad way.
I wonder if it was the number of people doing straight sewer team/paper missions 1-15 that convinced them?
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