I don't generally use 'tools' with my toons, but I think (not sure) that weapons appear to be fairly standard or they have a lot less wiggle room because I've seen tiny toons with proportionately huge swords out there.
Just my own 2 bits, but I'm not much a fan of the growth/shrink ideas when brought up. It would sorta ruin the feel of the game if I felt I was in 'Destroy All Monsters'.
Ninus Lvl 50 Bots/Dark/SM Mastermind Badges: 1384 @Ninus on Global
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Very unlikely to occur graphically, extremely unbalancing, yet very well thought out. *So* close to a hat trick.
I like the idea. Growth and shrinking are such a part of the comic book superhero experience, there should be some attempt at making it work in this game.
Making it work in game would be simple. You'd talk to your contact, you'd accept the mission, and as you entered the door you'd get the message, 'You've shrunk down to a mere fraction of your former size' or whatever else was appropriate to the degree of change. Growing or shrinking relative to your current surroundings, on the other hand, seems very unlikely.
I'm really having a difficult time understanding why this power set/pool or what ever would be a problem... everytime someone posts a suggestion about this, the "nay-sayers" come out in hoards to say "nay"! I'm not a programmer, I don't work in the industry, I just like a good game (of which, CoX is the best) but what I do have is common sense (Read: general knowledge not book smarts... hence possible spelling errors) and Common sense dictates that if there is enough of a demand for something then there should be someone to try and find a way to supply that demand.
just my humble opinion...
Because, last I checked, a developer at one point said that it was either impossible or not worth the effort (power customization is very high on the "list of things that people want", for example, but the amount of effort to do it is colossal) to do, putting it out of reach.
growth/shrinking relative to current size is one of those things. again, last I recall.
Dawncaller - The Circle of Dawn
Too many blasted alts to list, but all on Virtue.
...never-the-less...
I stand by my last point.
it IS simple business sence, after all.
Does your business sense factor in things like limited man-hours and return on investment?
It's easy to say "This should be done because people want it". It's hard to admit that "This is not a good investment because the engine is not designed to handle it. and rewriting the engine to handle it would take significant amounts of time and effort away from everything else for a relatively small return".
(please keep in mind that I'm avoiding giving my own opinion on any of it, except to focus on the notion that "if people want it, it should happen".)
Dawncaller - The Circle of Dawn
Too many blasted alts to list, but all on Virtue.
"Supply and demand" heard of it?
Business 101.
I'm not trying to get into a drawn out argument here (or an argument period), but as far as what the OP is suggesting, I'm not EXACTLY, for it. in so far as being able to adjust a toon's size within established perameters of the current size slider (4' - 8') should not cause the "end of all things". and that is what I mean... I was not as clear before so that's my bad.
You'd have a much more persuasive argument if you stopped trying to claim that when your 'common sense' (coupled with admitted total ignorance of programming theory in general, this particular game's code in particular, or actual economic or management skill) disagrees with what several of the devs -- who have written the game and can be reasonably said to have a better understanding of what the engine is and isn't capable of or how difficult a given alteration would be -- have to say about a topic, they must be wrong.
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"Supply and demand" heard of it?
Business 101.
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"Cost Benefit Analysis" heard of it?
Business 102
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"Supply and demand" heard of it?
Business 101.
I'm not trying to get into a drawn out argument here (or an argument period), but as far as what the OP is suggesting, I'm not EXACTLY, for it. in so far as being able to adjust a toon's size within established perameters of the current size slider (4' - 8') should not cause the "end of all things". and that is what I mean... I was not as clear before so that's my bad.
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You're joking me, right?
Growth is NOT on the top of the list for things we want, and the effort trying to mandate how we can grow, where we can grow, clipping issues, and what different periods of 'growth' mean are all things that the developers would need to factor in. And on top of that, the powerset lists are already saturated with Defense sets.
The costs would far outweigh the benefits. It was only recently that Shields became a different case entirely.
If character models had been made with size changes in mind we would have a height slider in the tailor. The way the game pieces together our parts does not lend itself to resizing. Unless they go back and redo how our models are handled we will not get a height slider or height modification powers.
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"Supply and demand" heard of it?
Business 101.
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"Cost Benefit Analysis" heard of it?
Business 102
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First of all: GREAT RETORT! Love it when somebody calls me on stuff. It challenges me to come up with something better... unfortunately for me, Umbral is right!
Secondly, reading over my other Postsm I must have been having a bad day, as I was very rude in them... I am sorry about that.
I still like the idea of the OP and others who suggest this sort of power because it would be a fun power to have. But the truth is that if it is possible, the devs will give it to us... if not then they wont.
Again, sorry for my behavior... no pie for me! 
I do believe Hell just froze over. Someone on the internet admitted he was wrong.
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No harm, no foul. I play devil's advocate poorly most of the time - even when it's most of what I do around here - and I have all the subtlety of a sledgehammer.
Dawncaller - The Circle of Dawn
Too many blasted alts to list, but all on Virtue.
Growth nd shrinking are iconic powers, no question, but i keep wondering how proponents would have it work in enclosed maps like caves arachnos and ornabega. my ice tanker, who is max height with wings, makes it difficult to see in caves, growing any larger would seem to me a difficulty for cameras, and a sever limiter on how large you could get. so while i totally agree that it would be neat, it carries problems that i can imagien would be fixable without a significant investment of manpower and the results would probably dissapoint most of growth's major proponents as being limited. sorry, im not getting water powers either though, if it makes ya feel better :P
EDIT: oh and adam does get respect points for being a adult, rare online, but appreciated when it shows up.
Well thanks for the forgiveness ya'll. 
...but lest take another look at this from a different angle: okay, I admit that the OP (and by extention, me in agreeing) had not looked at the logistics of this being almost impossible to implement! BUT let's assume you want to make a toon that normally is of average height and has the ability to change his height [u]within the established perameters of the CURRENT size sliders[u]? Now say, that it's like that green-skinned behemoth that shall not be named, right? You go from miled-mannored guy/girl to 8-foot tall beast when your powers activate... or from a huge guy/girl to a 4-foot tall squirt? I think that should be do-able.
Now, you could have the powers (not unlike PB's/WS's) scale/change as your size changes... I don't know what would be so difficult about that. The machanics are already there for it.
... then again, I don't know!
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Now, you could have the powers (not unlike PB's/WS's) scale/change as your size changes... I don't know what would be so difficult about that. The machanics are already there for it.
... then again, I don't know!
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Actually, all powers already change scale as size changes. That's how they get away with having so many different options for models. The kheldian issue is also a bit less effective than you'd think because it's completely altering the model of the target (re: player) and having it adopt a different, specific skeleton (which changes the size).
The only real "size changing" that I can imagine as being useful/wanted and still be capable of being implemented (though I'm not sure about it, because I'm not sure how they have it coded) is having size be manipulable when changing your costume at Icon. If a player wants to change size, they can simply have costumes at different sizes and change the costume (outside of the 30 sec lockout) when it would be appropriate. We can already change all of the other sliders, so I'm not sure how hard it would be to simply relocate the height slider.
Granted we know its not possible, but if it were, i would LOVE to see shrinking added as a debuff. After all, alot of the problems with size changing is with being too big, and we already have examples of teeny tiny mobs(clockwork)
Jay Doherty: Yes, there was this one night that I was ready to go home but had to drop the browns off at the super bowl before I left for home. While on the throne it hit me. I stayed for a few more hours and that why we have the pain pads in the game.
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Now, you could have the powers (not unlike PB's/WS's) scale/change as your size changes... I don't know what would be so difficult about that. The machanics are already there for it.
... then again, I don't know!
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Actually, all powers already change scale as size changes. That's how they get away with having so many different options for models. The kheldian issue is also a bit less effective than you'd think because it's completely altering the model of the target (re: player) and having it adopt a different, specific skeleton (which changes the size).
The only real "size changing" that I can imagine as being useful/wanted and still be capable of being implemented (though I'm not sure about it, because I'm not sure how they have it coded) is having size be manipulable when changing your costume at Icon. If a player wants to change size, they can simply have costumes at different sizes and change the costume (outside of the 30 sec lockout) when it would be appropriate. We can already change all of the other sliders, so I'm not sure how hard it would be to simply relocate the height slider.
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I see your point.
Growth and Shrinking are power pools where the effects are generally derived from the amount of the power the player is actively using. They are controlled by Magnitude (or M - initially set to 0). As Growth or Shrinking powers are activated, the value increases or decreases causing changes shown below. Each Growth/Shrink power enhances 1 aspect of size changing but that enhancement affects the total magnitude bonus.
If M is positive you stand 5*M + 5 tall, if M is negative you stand 3/M tall.
All characters get:
+(10*M)% running and jumping speed
+(3*M) radius for all PBAoE Taunt attacks
+(2*M) reach (range bonus to melee-type attacks) to both you and your foes (min 3 ft).
+(4*M)% resistance to lethal, energy, and toxic damage {enhanced by Big if M>1}
+(1*M)pt. of knockback protection
+(1*M)pt. of knockback added to all melee-based attacks {enhanced by Huge if M>1}
-(50*M) stealth radius {enhanced by Slight if M<1}
-(4*M)% ranged defense {enhanced by Small if M<1}
If absolutevalue(M) > 1
+(2*M)% resistance to smashing, heat, and cold damage {enhanced by Big if M>2}
-(2*M)% melee defense {enhanced by Small if M<2}
If absolutevalue(M) > 3
+(2*M)% defense debuff on targets melee defense {enhanced by Colossal if M>3}
-(2*M)% accuracy buff {enhanced by Tiny if M<3}
Growth
Each power is interruptible while it activates (as you grow to a new height). If you try to activate a power but have no room to grow (due to a roof), nothing happens. If you are too big to fit through an opening, you must turn off growth powers until you can.
Big (self & toggle) (+1 M). Your body mass helps you resist damage from pinpoint attacks. Enhancements: Resistance, Endurance, Interrupt, Recharge.
Huge (self & toggle) (+1 M). Your size gives you a PBAoE taunt attack on foes within a 5 radius, and gives you additional leverage to knock opponents down. Enhancements: Endurance, Interrupt, Knockback, Taunt, Recharge
Gigantic (self & toggle) (+1 M). You are so much bigger than your opponents that you do an extra 10*M smashing damage with all your melee attacks. You must be level 14 and already have 1 other Growth power. Enhancement: Damage, Endurance, Interrupt, Recharge.
Colossal (self & toggle) (+1 M). Your fists are now the size of your foes enabling you to ignore their attempts to block your melee attacks. Your size is frightening (2*M PBAoE fear radius). You must be level 20 and already have 2 other growth powers. Enhancement: Defense Debuff, Fear, Endurance, Interrupt, Recharge.
Shrink
Each power is interruptible while it activates (as you shrink to a new height).
Small (self & toggle) (-1 M). Your size makes it easy to find cover and dodge attacks. Enhancements: Defense, Endurance, Interrupt, Recharge.
Slight (self & toggle) (-1 M). Your size makes it easy to sneak and hide. Enhancements: Endurance, Interrupt, Range, Recharge
Puny (self & toggle) (-1 M). You are so small that opponents have trouble tracking and targeting you; +(2*M)% to-hit debuff. You must be level 14 and already have 1 other Shrink power. Enhancement: Endurance, Interrupt, Recharge, To-hit Debuff.
Tiny (self & toggle) (-1 M). Your foes are so much bigger than yourself, its ridiculously easy to tag them. You must be level 20 and already have 2 other Shrink powers. Enhancement: Accuracy, Endurance, Interrupt, Recharge.
There could of course be temp powers (magic elixirs or proton belts, etc) that enable Growth or Shrink. But only characters who have the power(s) have access to the enhancements, so there will probably be a noticeable difference in performance. External boosts could, in theory, grow or shrink a character by any amount, but if Magnitude is a single digit, then 9 levels is the limit, which is down to 4 tall or up to 50.
Having the power effect force specific heights will hopefully help with the costume issues as there are only specific values to be checked rather than the entire range of possible heights. Since the wire-frames and skins are proportional, I'm not sure I follow the argument about the 4' to 8' range provided by the design sliders. I agree that the resolution of various costume parts could make them look terrible when stretched or shrunk to extremes, but not the notion they won't scale properly. Weapons, I suppose, might not scale (I've never much bothered with weapon-users). I would expect the overall length of a sword to scale to the length of the user's arm to reflect proper size and balance - but that might be too fine a detail for the game to simulate.
Just call me "The Pool Guy" - cause I believe that power pools are the ultimate in powerset proliferation. Fewer powers to develop and available to all.
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