Power Renaming
By
Bookkeeper_Jay,
Posted on: 2009-08-29 08:07 in Archetypes and Powers General Discussion
Won't happen. As with LittleBigPlanet the TTP would be very small.
Hmm. A few thoughts:
1) Previously, the ability to modify the colors/appearance of powers was also off the table.
2) They already have safeguards in place to monitor character names, why not apply these to the power names as well?
3) If this is a real concern, why haven't they locked down character bios? There's instant TTP for ya, right there.
CocoCabana
Because character bios don't show up in my combat log:
"lolbat hits you with PWNURMOM for 165 smashing damage!"
They could extend the same profanity filter that the chat log utilizes to cover the combat log as well.
CocoCabana
but PWNURMOM wouldn't be filtered
How is that any different from
"PWNURMOM hits you with Fire Blast for 165 Fire damage!"
If they can monitor character names, why not power names?
Forget Hoarfrost or Chilling Embrace, Foot Stomp with the alternate animation is neither a stomp nor is it done with the foot. The alternate animations for Storm Kick and Crippling Axe Kick aren't kicks either, those are the ones that should be renamed
I'm not sure which is more silly. That people think power names should be held to a higher standard than character names are, or that people actually find something as ridiculous as PWNURMOM to be genuinely offensive.
The Bacon Compels You.
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They probably don't (although they'd find it stupid).|
Originally Posted by JohnnyKilowatt
that people actually find something as ridiculous as PWNURMOM to be genuinely offensive.
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I could easily come up with more offensive power names than PWNURMOM but why get myself modsmacked by proving how offensive I can be? Let your imagination run wild with things that could slip through the filter and let PWNURMOM serve as its placeholder.
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Which brings us back to point number 1: Holding power names to a higher standard than character names. What happens to to people who (use your imagination) in character names? Why would that be any different than power names?
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Originally Posted by Jophiel
They probably don't (although they'd find it stupid).
I could easily come up with more offensive power names than PWNURMOM but why get myself modsmacked by proving how offensive I can be? Let your imagination run wild with things that could slip through the filter and let PWNURMOM serve as its placeholder. |
The Bacon Compels You.
You don't need to use profanity to find a way to squick people out with your power name choices. I think the main concern is creating more work for customer service; they have enough trouble just trying to react to Wolverine clones and Topless Girl, and people are already giggling over making Rain of Fire yellow.
Arc #41077 - The Men of State
Arc #48845 - Operation: Dirty Snowball
If that's the case, then they need to invest in more customer service.
With Champions coming out next month, CoX isn't the only superhero/villain MMORPG anymore. CoX needs competitive differentiators to set it apart from what looks to be a pretty slick, well-put together game. Greater customization options would be an excellent route.
CocoCabana
No thanks. I like to be able to look at my teammate's bios and have a vague idea of what they can and can't do.
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/this, for starters. And I'm sure it'd throw the game on occasion. For instance, right now I can go in-game, type in [Storm Kick] and see what it does. It's a simple (SCR, I know) lookup. [Smellmyfoot] or [Nostril extractor] isn't. |
Originally Posted by SlyGuyMcFly
No thanks. I like to be able to look at my teammate's bios and have a vague idea of what they can and can't do.
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Go ahead, look at my power list and have all of them - offensive and defensive, buffs, debuffs, etc. - listed as [My Powers!] - literally - and tell me what I'm capable of. Am I a TA/Arch defender? Am I a blapper? "Pure healer?" Have I ignored my buffs and debuffs, or am I a balanced character?
Now do it with dual builds, log off the character, come back after, say, a vacation, or not playing the character for a month, and tell *yourself* from that list what those powers do and which build you're on.
I wouldn't have any objection to a client-side change - if I want Fireblast to be Dimensional Flames on my screen and nobody else's, well, I don't see what that would harm.
I do think there's lots of things they could spend their time on that I'd enjoy more, however (Pool/Epic power customization, I'm glancing in your general direction...)
Synchrotron, level 50 Radiation/Radiation Defender
Fighting crime on Champion since 2004
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Those are some good points that I hadn't thought of, Bill. But consider:|
Originally Posted by Memphis_Bill
/this, for starters. And I'm sure it'd throw the game on occasion. For instance, right now I can go in-game, type in [Storm Kick] and see what it does. It's a simple (SCR, I know) lookup. [Smellmyfoot] or [Nostril extractor] isn't.
Go ahead, look at my power list and have all of them - offensive and defensive, buffs, debuffs, etc. - listed as [My Powers!] - literally - and tell me what I'm capable of. Am I a TA/Arch defender? Am I a blapper? "Pure healer?" Have I ignored my buffs and debuffs, or am I a balanced character? Now do it with dual builds, log off the character, come back after, say, a vacation, or not playing the character for a month, and tell *yourself* from that list what those powers do and which build you're on. |
1) Half of what makes a character (a blaster, True Defender, blapper, whatnot) is the powers he or she selects, the other half is the slotting. If you're that concerned with knowing the capabilities of a teammate, you're only getting half the story anyway by looking at their powerset. If it's someone that six-slotted Brawl and Rest, you're in trouble no matter what powers they chose.
2) How often do you really run into a player that's messed up they're power selection? It's pretty hard to do unless you deliberately select all power pools.
3) If you want to know what role your teammate fills, you can always ask. Who doesn't like to talk about their characters?
4) True, after taking a break there is a little disorientation refamiliarizing yourself with your toon. But your power trays don't list your powers by name, they show icons, which are very consistent in usage (Small Blast = Small Arrow, Medium Blast = Bigger Arrow, Hold = Diamond, etc). I don't think you'd need a lot of extra time to reaquaint yourself with your toon.
Again, you've got some good points. But weighed against the expanded customization that individual renaming of powers offers, I'd favor customization.
- CocoCabana
Well on time when I was messing around with free realms, and they have that little name thingy in the beginning which you can make your name from a set of pre-designed names...and mix/match them.
Something like that would be nice, basically you could have a power descriptive like ( Fire, Flame, Energy, Radiant, Icy, darkness, force ) and then an action descriptive like ( punch, kick, blast, shot, haymaker, rings, bomb, armor ). There are probably tertiary variants that could be added, but that would just be simple enough, and the names could be based on what the actual power provides...say like pets (i.e. Dark Servant...names available would be Shadowy, Dark, Shapeless, and Entity, Being, Agent, Voidling ).
Freedom Bound!!!
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Hahaha. You do realize there's a reason Vanden's Power Icon Fix exists, right?
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Originally Posted by CocoCabana
your power trays don't list your powers by name, they show icons, which are very consistent in usage
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http://www.fimfiction.net/story/36641/My-Little-Exalt
I'd support a 'client side only' rename option.
However, I can see where that could cause some minor problems with reorientation ...and some hilarity...
"Don't worry, if he breaks aggro, I'll use Gekigangar Punch!"
"...what?"
Story Arcs I created:
Every Rose: (#17702) Villainous vs Legacy Chain. Forget Arachnos, join the CoT!
Cosplay Madness!: (#3643) Neutral vs Custom Foes. Heroes at a pop culture convention!
Kiss Hello Goodbye: (#156389) Heroic vs Custom Foes. Film Noir/Hardboiled detective adventure!
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JOOOOOOOOOEEEE!!! /anguish|
Originally Posted by Kitsune9tails
"Don't worry, if he breaks aggro, I'll use Gekigangar Punch!"
"...what?" |
That said, I don't think renaming powers is something that I would want/need. I can call a power something different all I want, but the players will still use the default names for clarity (as they should). If I'm just renaming the power for my sake, I personally don't see the point.
I eventually just learned to ignore the power names, myself. I seldom read combat logs, and that's the only place they show up. Any such capability, unlike power recoloring, would entirely mess up the feeds from add ons that tell you how you're doing by monitoring the combat log.
I started enjoying sets like Martial Arts, Katana, and Ninjutsu once I learned to ignore the artsy, pseudo-mystical, or unintelligible names of the sets and focused only on what they did. My ninja MM has a Middle Eastern background; AFAIAC he doesn't have ninjas but assassins. My martial arts characters just throw kicks.
<《 New Colchis / Guides / Mission Architect 》>
"At what point do we say, 'You're mucking with our myths'?" - Harlan Ellison
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The two don't really compare. For one thing (and the most obvious), the game HAS to allow you to select your own character name. They don't have to allow to name your own powers. In fact, for the minimal return on it, it's opening themselves to a whole lot of headaches for nothing. Combining with that reason is that each character represents one chance to break the naming filters. However, it represents... 20? 30? (how many power slots do we ultimately have anyway?) chances to break the filters through renaming powers.|
Originally Posted by JohnnyKilowatt
Which brings us back to point number 1: Holding power names to a higher standard than character names.
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So, yeah... the additional twenty-fold headache from a completely unnecessary thing like renaming powers is in fact a legitimately higher standard than character names.
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Well, like every other player, you named your character for your sake, you probably spent at least a little time selecting his or her costume for your sake, and you will probably customize the look of your powers for your sake,why not name your powers as well? Or don't, it would be your choice.|
If I'm just renaming the power for my sake, I personally don't see the point. - Nurvus |
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I eventually just learned to ignore the power names, myself... I started enjoying sets like Martial Arts, Katana, and Ninjutsu once I learned to ignore the artsy, pseudo-mystical, or unintelligible names of the sets and focused only on what they did. My ninja MM has a Middle Eastern background; AFAIAC he doesn't have ninjas but assassins. My martial arts characters just throw kicks. - Heraclea |
Although, granted, there's no easy answer I can give off the top of my head for the data mining issues, particularly if you're studying other toons than your own. Good point.
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For one thing (and the most obvious), the game HAS to allow you to select your own character name. They don't have to allow to name your own powers. In fact, for the minimal return on it, it's opening themselves to a whole lot of headaches for nothing. - Jophiel |
The devs recognize this, which is why, 16 issues later, we're getting the ability to customize our powers. I'm sure in a future release there will be even more customization options, perhaps allowing MMs to costume their own pets.
Mental Midget pointed out a good middle-of-the-road approach, allowing characters to select their power names from corresponding menus, just as the current Title system is offered. While that wouldn't offer total customization, it would provide an exceptional amount of flexibility and eliminate the potential for abuse. Myself, I'd rather name my own power, but I'll take what I can get.
- CocoCabana
People who refuse me naming my power Crystal Dragon Jesus Form or Rain of Cats and Dogs stand in the way of freedom of expression! Not to mention, those who do not know what my power of Capitulation of the Seven Heavenly Demon Chain does at first glance on my character's info power tab lack the necessary IQ to team and bask in the glory of my Umbral Glow of A Thousand Pains.
I've only played with the Power Spectrum tool a little bit on the test server, and I already love it. It goes a long way to furthering the uniqueness of each hero and villain in CoX. Why not take it a step further, and as well as allowing characters to change the colors and animations of their powers, allow them to be renamed as well?
Would this require a massive change in the game mechanics? I'm thinking this could be accomplished with a new text string which is only called for the character description and combat logs, a simple cosmetic feature that wouldn't touch the underlying processes of CoX.
This would be a massive step forward in customization. With the ability to change the appearance of powers, and their effects (through Enhancements and special IOs), the ability for players to actually name their powers is a logical step.
For example, the promo image for Power Spectrum has a character utilizing what looks like green Ice Armor. It looks pretty cool! I'd like to create a new character with that kind of look, but my vision of the character doesn't include his powers being Ice based. I'd like to think of them being Energy based instead. And if I could rename those powers....
Frozen Armor -> Deflector Shield
Hoarfrost -> Armor Amplifier
Chilling Embrace -> Warp Field
etc.
- CocoCabana