Issue 13: So big it can't be contained in 1 update
By
Angry_Citizen,
Posted on: 2008-09-25 10:01 in Developers' Corner
Leveling pact sounds awesome for duo toons. Multi builds? Oh man, thats awesome!
Oh.
My.
I'm sorry to see the split into I13 and I14, but those are some seriously cool teases you added there, Posi!
-- War
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PvE and PvP Powers Rebalancing: Floyd Castle Grubb and the powers designers have been hard at work in finding ways to strike a better balance between the many powers in the game. The scope of what they are doing is too broad to go into details here, but were very excited and well share more information soon. Suffice it to say that we know that you dont want your PvE powers adjusted because of how they play in PvP, so were taking a new tact in power balancing with Issue 13.
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Only thing I'm excited about. But thanks for the update. Can we get villain content now?
Doom.
Yep.
This is really doom.
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starting off a kick-[censored] 2009 with the release of Mission Architect.
Matt "Positron" Miller
Lead Designer, City of Heroes/Villains
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they censored a dev, hawt! And very nice ideas about pvp
This is good news!
I want the mission creator to be as open and detailed as possible... creatable enemies?! BAD A**!
And still getting many very cool new features this fall, the devs are showing thier innovation and creativity and this is why I love this game and play everyday!
Thanks!
Any news on more powerset proliferation (beyond the two new sets)?
Wow
i think I like that levelling pact. so say you have 2 accounts and start them together and just play one to 50, go to your other account and boom you have a free 50?
Switching between builds for PVP and PVE??
Just what I need!
/e faint
Okay, so Posi, any time-frame for when the new, Mission Architect-less I13 will hit beta?
-- War
Although a little saddened that the mission architect won't be out till later, it doesn't seem like "much" later, so that's cool with me.
OTOH, I'm still excited to see what's in store for Bases, as well as the new mission content, day jobs, and power rebalancing.
Keep fighting the good fight Posi et al 
/fail
Announcement: The big part of Issue 13 will now be Issue 14.
Oh, and you can now hire a chinese gold farmer to level you to 50 without you even needing to be online.
Oh, and you can make a 'pvp' and 'pve' version of yourself.
I think this is a great idea, I'd rather MA be delayed than all of Issue 13. It may not be a popular move with the MA crowd, but probably the best you could've made overall.
Multi-Builds is an awesome addition, excellent work! I'm not into PvP, but I can definitely see most of my characters have a Solo and a Group build.
very interesting........ 
Loose --> not tight.
Lose --> Did not win, misplace, cannot find, subtract.
One extra 'o' makes a big difference.
Cool stuff. I'll have to have a buddy to do this leveling pact with me. We both play at 2 different times during the week, but the same on the weekends.
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This is good news!
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Obviously. The economy is also fundamentally quite sound too.
Hmmm since the MA is no longer I13.. then does that mean that new Proliferated sets is no longer a stretch goal??
I'm glad they want to do the MA right and are delaying it to make sure they give us the best product they can. Take all the time you need!
The other newer features just seemed "meh" to me with exception to the Leveling pact. For a casual gamer like me this is a great way to keep up with the SG!
PVP/PVE separate builds... I had enough trouble IOing 1 toon. Does that mean I have to get all NEW sets? Or can I copy some of the Sets over to the new build so I don't have to spend a fortune on more IOs?
@Radmind - Justice Server
ClintarCOH - Twitter
ClintarCOH - Twitter
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Oh, and you can now hire a chinese gold farmer to level you to 50 without you even needing to be online.
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...
very interesting concern. WTG Posi and Co.
Doom.
Yep.
This is really doom.
Delay: Nooooooo!!! I don't need no steeekin AV customization! Harrumph! 
Bases were a big big part of I13: Architect. The cost restructuring is going into the new I13 but what about the rest... and what IS "the rest", anyway?
Levelling Pact: Hmmm, so, in an extreme case, I can level somebody who never logs in all the way to 50. I bet it takes twice as much time, doesn't it? Interesting.
Multi-Builds sounds GREAT! Should be a huge shot in the arm for PvP. Or even have an "AV killer" build and a "minion killer" build. Limit of two builds? Can we "share" IO sets over different builds or will each build need its own enhancements?
Good morning! When we announced Issue 13: Architect a couple weeks back, we were overwhelmed by the positive response. Much of the feedback was centered around the Mission Architect system which allows players to create their own missions and story arcs. We have been actively following forum threads and private messages about the feature, and have even discussed it with players in person at the Penny Arcade Expo in Seattle.
It became apparent that you guys really want this feature, but in order to fully realize your dreams of writing your own missions you need creative control in one more key area: The ability to create customized characters to fight with or against in your missions. Adding custom characters has always been on our Mission Architect feature list, but we had considered it a stretch goal. That is, we could launch the system without this feature because our confidence was high that the rest of the system was incredibly robust.
But after listening to you guys, we realize that this feature simply must be in at launch. You have convinced us that it is an integral part of the Mission Architect, and we have reworked schedules and timelines to accomplish this. Rather than push the launch of Issue 13 out completely for one (albeit really cool and very complex) feature, the Mission Architect is going to see a slight delay. What is not going to be delayed is the rest of Issue 13. To that end, the previously announced feature set for Issue 13, together with new features that we are announcing today, will become Issue 13 and Issue 14.
Issue 14 will take on the name "Architect" and contain the Mission Architect feature along with other features we'll announce at a later date. We are planning Issue 14: Architect to be released in the first Quarter of 2009. Issue 13 is now called "Issue 13: Power and Responsibility" and be launched in the Fall of 2008.
Issue 13: Power and Responsibility
Issue 13: Power and Responsibility will contain the bulk of features we've announced previously, including:
Shield and Pain Domination powersets
Merit Reward system
Day Jobs (that include a suite of new costume pieces)
Additional Cimerora and Midnight Squad mission arcs
In addition, we have some other new exciting features to reveal that will be included in Issue 13: Power and Responsibility. These include:
Leveling Pact
Multi-Builds
PvE & PvP Powers rebalancing
Villain Patron Power Respec
Supergroup Base Repricing
Over the coming weeks well be providing more details about the above points, but let me give you an overview of some of them now.
The Leveling Pact: A new innovation to MMOs, this groundbreaking system allows you and a buddy to create new characters and have your XP be permanently in sync, whether both characters are online or not. You will always be the same level, even if your buddy plays ten times more often than you do! Its sort of like Extreme Sidekicking.
Multi-Builds: Another innovation to City of Heroes, we are delivering the ability to have two different build-outs of each character, including which powers are selected and which Enhancements are slotted. This will now be possible for characters who want to take advantage of it. By visiting any Trainer you can switch the entire build of your character to an alternate one. You can use this separate build for whatever you like. If you wish to use different power selections for soloing and groups, you can do that. This even makes it possible to have different IO sets slotted for PVP and PVE. Its up to you.
PvE and PvP Powers Rebalancing: Floyd Castle Grubb and the powers designers have been hard at work in finding ways to strike a better balance between the many powers in the game. The scope of what they are doing is too broad to go into details here, but we're very excited and well share more information soon. Suffice it to say that we know that you dont want your PvE powers adjusted because of how they play in PvP, so were taking a new tact in power balancing with Issue 13.
Summary
Issue 13 was so big we had to turn it into two releases, Issue 13: Power and Responsibility and Issue 14: Architect. Issue 13 will be going into beta soon and launching this Fall. It will include most of the previously announced features of Issue 13, and then some. Issue 14: Architect will include the full-featured Mission Architect and is scheduled to launch to the live servers in Q1, 2009. I am really looking forward to getting Issue 13 into your hands as soon as possible, and starting off a kick-[censored] 2009 with the release of Mission Architect.
Matt "Positron" Miller
Lead Designer, City of Heroes/Villains
Positron
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