Suggestion 1: Sounds interesting. I think the current zones could use a tune-up every now and then.
Suggestion 2: Sounds kind of like street-hunting a hazard zone. Maybe less like Boomtown and more like the Sewers and the Abandoned Sewers? Bonus: Getting well into the Abandoned Sewers and realizing that they are respawning behind you. CoT Death Mages, Rikti, Hydra. (Okay, not so bad now that we have Teleport-to-SGbase Vet powers, Pocket D transporter power (from the GvE pack), an Ouro portal power, a WW teleporter dayjob power, etc. But, um......YOU WHIPPERSNAPPERS GET OFF MAH LAWN!!)
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This is a bug, not an intended feature. But yeah, it would be nice if they'd get around to fixing it.|
Originally Posted by Hercules
The same door could open into an office in one mission, then on the next mission, it could open into a cave network. How many times have you entered into a rickety wooden door on a hillside and found a modern bank map inside? Totally breaks any sense of immersion.
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Suggestion 2: Most MMORPGs have static "challenge maps" that players can progress through. In most games, these are called dungeons. Again, if a themed dungeon were added to each zone, i think it would alleviate a lot of the farming that goes on in MA and in PI. The task force in CoH somewhat serves this purpose, but again, there is no real sense of place - they usually consist of a chain of maps, most of which we've seen in regular missions (with a few exceptions). Dungeon maps are usually totally unique and unlike anything you'll see in regular missions. |
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I think I agree with this strongly - but let me clarify what I think you mean, because the office door opening into a cave is actually a bug.| Either add a collection of themed zones and/or slowly revamp the current zones to have their own themes. Make the doorways in each zone be static. Door 1 should always open into a CoT cave map, Door 2 should always open into a 5th column complex, etc. Wouldnt hurt to have guards or patrols at the door specific to what is inside. There also needs to be a set of missions specific to the theme in that zone. |
You mean that when I take, for example, the Freakolympics mission, or the Frostfire mission, I could be sent to basically any door in the zone that matches the map type. I can't say, "there's Frostfire's lair," or, "There's the Skull rave," because it changes every time.
Instead, they should make the door to each specific mission static. When I take the Frostfire mission, I always go to the same door. By doing this, it would allow them to differentiate the art on that specific door to be more interesting. For example, Frostfire could have some ice built up outside the door, and it could be guarded by some Outcasts that have some specific dialog.
I think that would do a lot to acheive the sense of "worldiness" you're talking about, and I think it would be a benefit to the game. So I'm all for it. It would also allow them to more tightly control the flow of the game, and make mission arcs serve the "tour guide," function that they serve in other MMOs, to good effect, in my opinion.
They've done this in a few rare cases - the one I can think of is the Arachnos tunnels below Faultline, where you enter some abandoned hero bases. Those are always in the same tunnels, and it's very atmospheric. If I got a random cave door like I do most of the time, it wouldn't be nearly as effective.
I also agree with the second suggestion, but I think they're already doing it to a large extent. It seems you want one big map that you progress through, though, which might be cool, I agree. I'm assuming you're not asking for an open-world dungeon. If you are, I disagree.
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While I agree with the suggestions, I can't say I agree with the idea that there's no sense of the world/area. The mood I'm given whenever I reach a zone - Faultline, Founders, Hollows, I can't speak much for redside because I haven't had the ability to explore there much - they're each very distinct. I just feel it part of the world itself that sometimes those doors lead to very improbable places.
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I agree with the notion that certain missions should have static doors. "Defeat Frostfire" being a good example. Others could include Doc Vahz's lair and Atta's cave. Add some sort of exterior graphics to the building (like Frostfire's building having snow on it that never melted from winter because the building is so cold, or Atta's cave having a couple Supa Trolls standing guard outside)
Also, Lou's garage. It's a unique map, it'd be cool if you got the mission and were sent to a building with a sign on it that said "Lou's Garage"
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Originally Posted by Dechs Kaison See, it's gems like these that make me check Claws' post history every once in a while to make sure I haven't missed anything good lately. |
One of the biggest gripes I have with CoH is the total lack of any sense of "place" in the game. Each zone is a collection of doorways into random maps. The same door could open into an office in one mission, then on the next mission, it could open into a cave network. How many times have you entered into a rickety wooden door on a hillside and found a modern bank map inside? Totally breaks any sense of immersion.
In any other MMORPG, you know going into a certain area, the mobs present in that area will always be there, which I think helps alleviate some of the feeling of "been there, done that" as you progress through levels and zones.
CoH, on the other hand, feels the same throughout. You get different mobs, but it's still on the same set of random maps on random places on the map.
Suggestion:
Either add a collection of themed zones and/or slowly revamp the current zones to have their own themes. Make the doorways in each zone be static. Door 1 should always open into a CoT cave map, Door 2 should always open into a 5th column complex, etc. Wouldnt hurt to have guards or patrols at the door specific to what is inside. There also needs to be a set of missions specific to the theme in that zone.
The closest we currently have to this design is Croatoa and Striga.
Suggestion 2:
Most MMORPGs have static "challenge maps" that players can progress through. In most games, these are called dungeons. Again, if a themed dungeon were added to each zone, i think it would alleviate a lot of the farming that goes on in MA and in PI. The task force in CoH somewhat serves this purpose, but again, there is no real sense of place - they usually consist of a chain of maps, most of which we've seen in regular missions (with a few exceptions). Dungeon maps are usually totally unique and unlike anything you'll see in regular missions.
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