The old zone reinvigoration think tank.
By
Aett_Thorn,
Posted on: 2008-11-25 13:22 in Suggestions and Ideas
Perez Park: I think the reason this zone isn't used much is because so much content at this level range, Atlas, Galaxy, Hollows, Sewers, Steel, Skyway, Boomtown. But I wouldn't mind a few arcs here.
Boomtown: Pretty much same as Perez.
The Tunnels: This zone isn't really supposed to be you spend hours on end down there fighting, just like an old catacombs with enemies down there...
Dark Astoria: I don't really want to see a full on renovation, I would rather see some story arcs put there, possibly some missions from some exBanished Patheon.
Crey's Folly: I think this zone doesn't need renovations but maybe a Taskforce or something out of it...
Eden: Maybe add a hospital if there isn't one here it could be an abandoned one from when eden had scientists and such here...
Abandoned Sewer Network: I think this zone is good as is, doesn't see as much action but it is like the tunnels in the Hollows...
Sewer Network: Already used a ton and adding things like hospitals or trainers would imo, break the zone....
Terra Volta: Doesn't see much action except for respec trials, but maybe as a Taskforce...
The Shadow Shard (all four zones): Already good as is.
I think the zones do need stuff added but not a full on renovation like the Hollows got, I wouldn't want to see a field hospital added to any of the hazard zones. A trainer... maybe, A Longbow contact to sell to, sure, but I wouldn't want a hospital, imo it would take the hazard out of the hazard zones.
[ QUOTE ]
-Apply the Giant Monster Scaling Code to Hazard/Trial zone mobs.
Doing just this would bring in the recipe hunters, the salvage hounds, and anyone looking for money in general. Currently there is only ONE place in the entire game I can think of where people actually hunt OUTSIDE for drops. The Cimerora wall. Adding the scaling code to these zones would decongest the wall, as well as maybe get people to stop farming outdoor missions. You might have to do a bit of coding to get drops to scale to the level of the player, but otherwise just this little change could potentially draw in more people.
[/ QUOTE ]
Actually, while there's not a *lot* going on in boomtown, I do see some hunting going on there. And DA? Yeah. LOTS of hunting... by lots of fire characters. Zombies melt so nicely.
DA has a metric tonne of backstory that needs going into. Story arcs and a trial, absolutely.
Perez needs the forest cut down. Give out chainsaws.
Boomtown... I rather like as is. But it's also got some story stuff to go into (Reichsman.)
The tunnels... the troll tunnels? Meh. They're tunnels. With trolls. That try to blow things up. I don't know how to actually make them interesting.
Creys... is a wasteland. *shrug* One of the reasons for going there (going to the RCS) no longer exists. Don't think there's a LOT of backstory there, but there seem to be a bunch of missions in there.
I'm less a fan of GM code than of arcs. I like that you "move past" a zone. *shrug* But that's me.
I see a lot of these zones being good places for things like antagonistic PvE encounters.
Take Boomtown, for example. Let villains sneak in there. Give them all fake hero IDs so that they blend in. Put a story in there about how there is an item lost in the rubble that each side wants.
This way each side gets new content, and it's not Co-op. Villains get villainy content, and heroes get do-gooder content.
Because I'd say villains need more content before heroes need more updated content.
Let me never fall into the vulgar mistake of dreaming that I am persecuted whenever I am contradicted.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson
"I was just the one with the most unsolicited sombrero." - Traegus
Dark Astoria: needs a Task Force really badly. I'd like to see a successful Task Force result in the "fog" being lifted from the zone for a few minutes anyways, with the citizens emerging from their houses squinting, shielding their eyes and cheering for Task Force *****!
Task Force completion could result in some kind of Temp Power Toggle for +Perception, that could be renewable, like Shivans. It would be a nice way to earn a workaround for all the Blinding that happens vs Arachnos and the like.
Crey's Folly: this would be a fun kinda Eco/Time Travel TF, a chance to see/save CF before Crey trashed it. It could be an opportunity to play with the Devouring Earth as allies and maybe even get a Temp Power DE Pet, like the Warwolf .
@Aett, that would be a great cost effective way to give the Red Side more content. No real reason they couldn't open certain hazard zones to the Red Side, and they could be completely separate instances. Opens up all kinds of options. maybe even something like a possible concurrent Blue/Red TF kinda thing, with both teams hunting down specific but different AVs. Where in one of the maps the two teams cross paths and come together albiet reluctantly to fend off overwhelming numbers of enemies, and I DO mean overwhelming, and then go on their separate ways after their respective AVs.
Travel Suppression is this game's worst feature, well that and MetaHumans riding mass transit like tourists at DisneyLand.
[ QUOTE ]
Put a story in there about how there is an item lost in the rubble that each side wants.
[/ QUOTE ]
Sounds...strangely familiar. 
What I would love to see in the Abandoned Sewers is a full update, using the handful of "broken" sewer tiles they have, along with some new ones. Paths would be caved in, waterways would be cut off (ala the Riders mission in the LGTF), and other pathways would be linked via cave systems and perhaps even pieces of Oranbega, since the CoT are down there.
Also, a sound-based necessity: A location-based sound triggered when you're anywhere near the center, of the Hydra Head roaring or somesuch.
Never surrender! Never give up!
Help keep Paragon City alive with the unofficial City of Heroes Tabletop Role Playing Game!
I have a suggestion from a while bakc that I was fond of
Boomtown
The clockwork castle.
The clockwork king has been busy and has built a castle in north boomtown. The area can be a point for story arcs about containign its developments and breakign in the smack some heads. Plus A king needs a castle.
Crime of Fashion Level 50 Rad/Rad Corrupter
My Toons
My Rad/Rad Corrupters Guide
Mindscape - Reworking
Steamboy pops into my head at this point.... and i see a massive floating clockwork tower...
@Oathbound & @Oathbound Too
General: One thing I'd like to see for every zone in the game--but particularly Hazard Zones--is at least one story arc that gives a history/overview of that zone.
Also, a lot of the Hazard Zones would benefit from having a set of repeatable missions.
Perez Park: I'd like to see the gang war escalated, with increased street warfare and a few missions dealing with it. Again, a small overview story arc, and some repeatable missions.
Also, don't touch the woods. It's one of the few nature areas in the game that isn't infested with DE.
Boomtown: Boomtown probably needs a Faultline treatment, although probably a lesser one. Start reclaiming the entrance area, with only a little construction further in. I like the wasteland feel of the zone, but it could use a little variety to the devastation. Many villain groups have set up camp in Boomtown, so let them have some established bases in there.
Also, roughly the same amount of story content as new Faultline.
The Tunnels: The only problem I have with the Tunnels is that they're somewhat repetitive. Adding some unique rooms and spicing up the spawns would help it.
I'm not sure they need any mission content, since they're so tied in with the Hollows. Maybe some repeatable missions, at most.
Dark Astoria: This zone needs an update badly. It's a very mysterious zone; we need a chance to investigate it. I'd say three or four story arcs and maybe a TF or Trial.
The map is fine, and would only need to be changed for story reasons.
Crey's Folly: I sometimes wonder why this is a Hazard Zone at all. There was evidently some sort of disaster that left the water highly polluted, but it seems like a number of the facilities are still operational.
I guess there's a few ways to go with it. It could be given a story arc or two dealing with Crey and all the sinister plots they undoubtedly have there, and/or it could be cleaned up enough environmentally to be opened up to the rest of the city again.
Or it could be ignored. Other than maybe a set of repeatable missions, it doesn't really need anything.
Eden: The threat in this zone is so straightforward (DE attack), that it doesn't need a heck of a lot other than missions fighting the DE. And that's partially covered by the Trial.
This brings up one of the main problems with improving Hazard Zones: there's lot's of stories that could be added to all of them, but only so much Developer time, and only Heroes have access to them. So maybe some missions could be added to Eden, but not many.
Abandoned Sewer Network: This zone is rather underused. That's a little odd for an area that was one of the major battlegrounds in the Rikti war. As a zone, however, it doesn't need much except maybe more of an incentive to go down there.
There are presumably Rikti strongholds and Oranbegan ruins down there, somewhere. It would be interesting to actually see them.
Sewer Network: These are well used for sewer runs. That actually makes adding content to them a little problematic, since any contacts or vendor NPCs placed at the entrance would be useless to groups that invariably end up deep in the sewers with no way of reaching them.
I think the most useful thing that could be added would be a contact who gives hunt missions, and who could immediately be called upon taking the first mission.
Terra Volta: This zone is downright strange: it's the central electricity source for the city, and yet it's been allowed to become a Trial Zone with seemingly little resistance. PPD and/or Longbow should be out in FORCE trying to reclaim it.
I think an interesting way to re-imagine Terra Volta would be to claim that it's not a Hazard Zone because it's dangerous, but because it needs to be kept safe. Where most Hazard Zones seem to be designed to keep enemies in, the walls around TV could be in place to keep enemies OUT. In this scenario, the enemies in the zone are not there because it is their turf, but because they are constantly staging assaults on the reactor.
I'd say a story arc or two, plus some repeatable missions.
Also, this zone needs Arachnos. TV is the heart of Paragon's energy; they very definitely want to stab it.
The Shadow Shard: The main thing these zones need is more story content that isn't confined to the story arcs.
There's been debate on the forums about making them co-op zones. I think Villains should have more access to the Shard, although that doesn't automatically mean co-op.
Overall, what most of these zones need is about two short story arcs, and some repeatable missions. A few could use some visual upgrades, with Boomtown probably needing the most attention in this regard.
Virtue:
Grul Doctor Pinnacle Swarm Caller Pity Fist Smashdozer Dhuuln
[ QUOTE ]
General: Perez Park: I'd like to see the gang war escalated, with increased street warfare and a few missions dealing with it. Again, a small overview story arc, and some repeatable missions.
Also, don't touch the woods. It's one of the few nature areas in the game that isn't infested with DE.
[/ QUOTE ]
absolutely. 100%. Dont cut down the trees. PP is my fav zone, and has been from the start. It just needs more action to bring people to it. I miss the old hydra hunting teams. *sigh*
[ QUOTE ]
PPD and/or Longbow should be out in FORCE trying to reclaim it.
[/ QUOTE ]
I love this idea with Terra Volta and in truth I think this goes the same with RWZ (substitute PPD/Longbow for Vanguard). We know that all three groups are more than capable of handling their own against enemies so why not have fights like in Siren's Call. For instance it always confuses me why RWZ has the tanks driving around that do nothing when you could have a middle range patrol...patrolling.
Maybe a battle for Terra Volta...much like the Respec Trail but on an entire map scale w/ a little bar at the top indicating what's going on. The heroes could help tip the scales but when heroes are not in the zone it remains a neutral or stalemate...or maybe it could cut the power to AE until people win back Terra.
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
-Apply the Giant Monster Scaling Code to Hazard/Trial zone mobs.
Doing just this would bring in the recipe hunters, the salvage hounds, and anyone looking for money in general. Currently there is only ONE place in the entire game I can think of where people actually hunt OUTSIDE for drops. The Cimerora wall. Adding the scaling code to these zones would decongest the wall, as well as maybe get people to stop farming outdoor missions. You might have to do a bit of coding to get drops to scale to the level of the player, but otherwise just this little change could potentially draw in more people.
[/ QUOTE ]
This is a great idea, it works already with the Zombie and Rikti attacks, but how will you handle someone teaming with a level 50 in Perez Park and sweeping everything in existance?
Other flavors would be a night time /day time Mobs ... This goes way back to Everquest with a few Zones that scared the poop out of you at night.
Perez park - Daytime/Nighttime
Dark Astoria - Monster Code
Terra Volta - Daytime/Nighttime & Monster code
so on and so on . . .
I love many of the suggestion posted so far.....
Move Lusca to Founders Falls ..
Have the Arachnos Flyer try to gain entry into TV.
Have new groups in TV to support the Ideas above (Abandoned Arachnos Troops)
ArchRex Dojhrom x ?
* Sidus Loricatus: B-NRG2, S-BS/Reg, T-Fire/Ice, MM-Bots/FF, St-NRG2, Dom-Psi/NRG, Cor-Son/Traps, Cor-Ice/Kin, Ctrl-Fire/Kin, PB-LB/LA
* Arachnos Loricatus: Soldier, Widow
* Praetoria Loricatus: B-DP/Dev, Cor-Elec/Elec
The problem with applying the GM code to Perez is that the comparative power of the mobs that are in there is pretty low. There's a reason we don't fight Hellions, Skulls, Vahz, or Clocks after level 20: they're weaker than they should be.
[ QUOTE ]
I have a suggestion from a while back that I was fond of
Boomtown
The clockwork castle.
The clockwork king has been busy and has built a castle in north boomtown. The area can be a point for story arcs about containign its developments and breakign in the smack some heads. Plus A king needs a castle.
[/ QUOTE ]
I like this ...
I have a story there in Baumton as well.
It was the central point of the Rikti attack so there were heavy losses. A few I mention:
Sports ... The Cities Main Arena was there it was huge as in superbowl size. What still lies hidden under the rubble????
Schools :....The pinnicle of education was in Baumton but Rikti tried to kidnap all the children during the onslaught so now they are home schooled and are still too afraid to walk the streets. What needs to be done to end the fear?
Animals:....What is eating all the Cats, Dogs, etc?
The Lost-? Rikti Monkeys-? Something else from a secret lab(new stalker based mobs)-. . .
ArchRex Dojhrom x ?
* Sidus Loricatus: B-NRG2, S-BS/Reg, T-Fire/Ice, MM-Bots/FF, St-NRG2, Dom-Psi/NRG, Cor-Son/Traps, Cor-Ice/Kin, Ctrl-Fire/Kin, PB-LB/LA
* Arachnos Loricatus: Soldier, Widow
* Praetoria Loricatus: B-DP/Dev, Cor-Elec/Elec
[ QUOTE ]
The problem with applying the GM code to Perez is that the comparative power of the mobs that are in there is pretty low. There's a reason we don't fight Hellions, Skulls, Vahz, or Clocks after level 20: they're weaker than they should be.
[/ QUOTE ]
I totally agree as I mentioned above..unless some other scaling can be made, a complete daytime/night time code would need to be applied.
ArchRex Dojhrom x ?
* Sidus Loricatus: B-NRG2, S-BS/Reg, T-Fire/Ice, MM-Bots/FF, St-NRG2, Dom-Psi/NRG, Cor-Son/Traps, Cor-Ice/Kin, Ctrl-Fire/Kin, PB-LB/LA
* Arachnos Loricatus: Soldier, Widow
* Praetoria Loricatus: B-DP/Dev, Cor-Elec/Elec
What I find odd is the fact that there are Hydra in Perez and DE in Crey's. If anything in this game looks like weird toxic waste monsters, it's the Hydra.
"Samual_Tow - Be disappointed all you want, people. You just don't appreciate the miracles that are taking place here."
[ QUOTE ]
What I find odd is the fact that there are Hydra in Perez and DE in Crey's. If anything in this game looks like weird toxic waste monsters, it's the Hydra.
[/ QUOTE ]
That is an excellent point. I have never thought DE looked like they belonged in Crey's.
Otherwise, as I have stated many times before I am in full accord with adding new things to "forgotten" zones, especially contacts. THERE CAN NEVER BE TOO MANY WAYS TO LEVEL UP! More contacts = more ways to level up.
Keeps the game fresher, y'know. And if getting on my knees and literally begging for a Dark Astoria SF would do any good, I would do it. Villains should have access to it.
[ QUOTE ]
What I find odd is the fact that there are Hydra in Perez and DE in Crey's. If anything in this game looks like weird toxic waste monsters, it's the Hydra.
[/ QUOTE ]
I find it funny that Crey's Folly has neighborhoods named Carnival Town & The Circus & they are filled with Freakshow, not Carnival of Shadows.
[ QUOTE ]
What I find odd is the fact that there are Hydra in Perez and DE in Crey's. If anything in this game looks like weird toxic waste monsters, it's the Hydra.
[/ QUOTE ]Well, the implication is that the sewer entrances in the park area are how the Kraken Hatchlings are released to the surface. As far as the DE go, they're EVERYWHERE that people are retreating from, to hasten breaking down the buildings and reclaim the area for nature. They're even in the RWZ, even though that's a much more active zone.
The Abrams is one of the most effective war machines on the planet. - R. Lee Ermy.
Q: How do you wreck an Abrams?
A: You crash into another one.
I use the hazard zones as they are already. I wish villains had hazard zones. I don't want them to change the spawn sizes or anything that affects my solo street sweeping fun. If they can be changed while preserving that, no problem.
Winner of Players' Choice Best Villainous Arc 2010: Fear and Loathing on Striga; ID #350522
I like the hazard zones. My scrapper went from 39 to 40 almost entirely in the Abandoned Sewer Network. The cacophany when you dive into a group of 10 or 12 rikti drones and they all start firing at the same time has to be heard to be believed 
If anything I'd rather see some of the regular heroside zones reworked. I spent several levels in Founders Falls and got no sense of the place at all - because nearly every mission those contacts gave me sent me to a different zone.
Edit: Some of the hazard zones could do with a few arcs telling the story of the zones. The Hollows and Faultline are probably my two favourite hero zones, and I'd certainly welcome more like that.
[ QUOTE ]
I have a suggestion from a while bakc that I was fond of
Boomtown
The clockwork castle.
The clockwork king has been busy and has built a castle in north boomtown. The area can be a point for story arcs about containign its developments and breakign in the smack some heads. Plus A king needs a castle.
[/ QUOTE ]
Ok, an animated clockwork town/castle area would just be so full of win I would have to visit the zone for hours on end. It'd be like "Small World" but totally evil and full of sadistic robots. Two thumbs up on this one. 
[ QUOTE ]
Perez needs the forest cut down. Give out chainsaws.
[/ QUOTE ]
Heh, I was going to say something similar. The canopy over the maze makes for some frustrating times. Either defoliate it, or make the canopy able to be gone through. Hopping up there and running across the top really breaks the realism.
[ QUOTE ]
What I find odd is the fact that there are Hydra in Perez and DE in Crey's. If anything in this game looks like weird toxic waste monsters, it's the Hydra.
[/ QUOTE ]
Looks can be deceiving. 
I think it would help a good deal if we just got some storyarcs in each of these zones along with a few new trials where appropriate. As far as the zones go in many cases I would rather seem them deteriorate further rather than being saved like faultline. The whole non city zone is just so much more interesting when we already have way too many city zones as is.
Perez - not sure what to do outside of storyarcs, but leave the trees alone. Don't care if they make it so you can fall through the canopy, but don't cut anything down.
Boomtown - The clockwork area sounds excellent I would love to see this. Also maybe add another council base like they have in the RWZ. This could even lead to some sort of council tunnels zone running between the bases (or maybe a council subway supply line)
Dark Astoria - With all the twisted Banished Pantheon rituals going on it would be nice to see the zone become more twisted and a little less real world. Kind of like how things shift between the real and evil worlds in silent hill. A few jump noises that can just play at any random time while you're in the zone might be nice too. You're walking along and just starting hearing something whispering but theres nobody there, or you hear a sudden scream, or a growl or numberous other cool things. This is the cool creepy zone of the game increase the creepiness factor.
Terra Volta - Outside of some mutations occuring due to the reactor (I would love a giant mutated Freak tank GM) I got nothing on this one.
Eden - I would love to see the DE take even more of the zone. Maybe they have some sort of odd power, fertilizer, whatever that makes plants grow (or even mutate) at amazing rates. It would be great to see the forest in this zone go out of control and end up taller than some of the skyscrapers in CoH. Throw in a few mutated immobile attack plants in the area as well.
Abandoned sewers - I think it would be nice to see the caves, Oranbega, and rikti strongholds tied in, but not sure how you could do that and not make the map huge. Would also love to see the Vanguard step into this zone a little due to rikti presence. Maybe set up 4 or 5 small vanguard posts the size of a room (could be in the entryways) then throw in some hunt missions and arcs with a teleporter from RWZ and let both villains and heroes fight down there.
Another odd thought. Even though it doesn't necessarily work with some of the zone stuff I want to see. It might be interesting to mix the NPC fighting codes of siren's call and the zone sector changing code of Recluse's Victory into one or two hazard zones. Then throw in some temp power rewards for helping protect/save the zone in question.
Alright, I just made this thread so we can brainstorm ways to actually get people to USE CoH's old hazard zones. The sad fact of the matter is that nobody ever uses these zones. When was the last time you have ever seen a bunch of people actually hunting zombies in Dark Astoria? I havent seen it since....what...Issue Five?
In any case, these zones need a revamp. However, I think we can all agree that a full faultline-style revamp for every single old zone is out of the question. So how else can we breathe life into these old zones?
Okay, so currently these are the zones that need to be looked at.
-Perez Park
-Boomtown
-The Tunnels
-Dark Astoria
-Crey's Folly
-Eden
-Abandoned Sewer Network
-Sewer Network
-Terra Volta
-The Shadow Shard (all four zones)
The only thing that most of these zones offer is a bunch of large spawns of enemies. Thats it. Some offer a trial as well, but in comparison to the rest of the zone, the actual space the trial encompasses is tiny in relation to the rest of the zone.
So, here are some of my ideas:
-Apply the Giant Monster Scaling Code to Hazard/Trial zone mobs.
Doing just this would bring in the recipe hunters, the salvage hounds, and anyone looking for money in general. Currently there is only ONE place in the entire game I can think of where people actually hunt OUTSIDE for drops. The Cimerora wall. Adding the scaling code to these zones would decongest the wall, as well as maybe get people to stop farming outdoor missions. You might have to do a bit of coding to get drops to scale to the level of the player, but otherwise just this little change could potentially draw in more people.
-Add SHORT story arcs to introduce trials, condense trial zones, and rework trials themselves (slightly).
Currently there is absolutely NOWHERE in game where you can learn that the various trials exist. The only way anyone hears about them is from other players. Perhaps a short story arc could be added to each trial zone to introduce people to the primary enemies of the zone, and let them know that the Trial exists. Trials could also be rearranged so all the trial contacts are in the zone the trial occurs in (or right outside), and that all the missions in the trial occur in the trial zone. Trial zones could also be condensed slightly, as they have a lot of empty space right now. Do we really need all those labyrinthine branches in the abandoned sewer network?
So thats my two cents. What do you guys think?