Discussion: Two Ways to Get Going Rogue

One has to suppose what was originally going to go into GR:

2 Powersets
Ultra Mode
Side-switching (and related content)
Praetoria (and related content)
?End Game System (and related content)
?Costumes
?Emotes
?Badges


And we still don't know how much of I17 was actually pushed ahead from GR material.

With the ahead of schedule push of UMode, DP and DS as well as what appears to be overhauls in QoL, UI, Game Systems (which in themselves constitutes a major change that could've been left for GR release); I think the pre-pay is well justified.

Your prepay is helping to push out things ahead of schedule. Or at least keep it from falling behind.


IMO

I agree. At this moment I have absolutely no intention of buying GR until and unless there is some actual clear information on what's in it.

Preordering at this point is like preordering a goody pack based on "It'll have cool ninja stuff and a power!" When they go up for purchase, they detail precisely what's in them. Why is GR not doing the same?

I've been very disappointed with the GR development cycle. The page for it was put up ages ago, with absolutely no further information posted on it until recently, which basically added a bio of a guy that's already in the game, and then nothing again. That's terrible marketing.

What do we know? We know it has new starting zones that allow you to pick your side as you go until you're set at level 20, which means very little. There could be two contacts there and it'll get boring as quickly as Mercy Island. Or it could be dozens and be an entirely new game. Or anywhere in between.

We know there's a mechanic for side-switching. Since it's a two-stage process you can assume there's more than one arc for each side. So is that it? Two arcs or trials for each side? Same process for everybody? Does it change you in any way?

We know there's two new power sets, one of which will only ever be used on one AT. That's nice, but limited.

There will be a Praetorian enemy faction, at least from 1-20 and in end game content, and maybe a Resistance faction despite them not seeming like an organised military force.

And finally, we can presume there will be new endgame content and probably a co-op task force, because that's the usual thing now. Ultra Mode was once a feature, but now isn't, which is nice and all, but further removes features from GR.

And for all we know, that's IT. A couple arcs from 1-20 which will quickly become as tedious as the rest of the early game content (and which, in any case, you'll be very quickly finished with), two power sets, one new enemy group, side-switching and a co-op task force.

I would like to compare this to City of Villains - which, yes, before people point this out, I know was released as a full game rather than just an expansion. But most people are going to see GR as basically the equivalent of CoV, it's being marketed similarly, and it is priced similarly. What did CoV have at launch?

- An entirely new game world with expansive content from 1-40 and 40-50 content promised later. This included not only new zones and dozens of contacts, but many entirely new enemy groups, from Arachnos and Longbow all the way to Gold Brickers, Scrapyarders and the Legacy Chain.

- The entire supergroup base system, along with, at the time, the promise of Items of Power to boost entire SG's prowess, and raids to capture them from your foes.

- Five entire new ATs with their own power sets, many of which were unique to COV.

- Repeatable content in the form of Newpaper missions that also allowed you to get new contacts.

As well, for all subscribers this included a massive graphical update to the game (sound familiar?), a massive overhaul of how the game worked with the ED system, the AI was changed to prevent unlimited amounts of aggro-grabbing, the debt cap was lowered, a PVP system with three zones and special rewards was initiated for everyone, stores were changed to sell all types of enhancements, the UI was improved, and there were other minor features like Arena gladiators.

Going Rogue is priced like City of Villains and has been marketed like City of Villains was - a whole new game experience. But in revealed content, it is about equivalent to any one goodie pack and a decent free issue combined. It is not even remotely similar in amount of new content to the release of COV, despite how long it was in development and how many people have been hired on to the team. I'm normally very supportive of the dev team, and not a frequent hater by any means, but GR's marketing has turned me from enthusiastic to the brink of totally disinterested. What's there that makes this so special? Side-switching's a neat idea, but taking a Mastermind to Steel Canyon or a Controller to Cap au Diable doesn't make the whole game fresh again.

Now, it could be that that's really all GR has for whatever reason, and they haven't revealed more because there's really nothing to reveal, and saying "New zones and 1-20 content where you determine your own alignment!" sounds a lot better than "Basically, you pick between an evil track and a good track for a couple storyarcs and then at the end you make a choice that makes you a hero or villain, then you're kicked out into the same old game". I'd love to be wrong on this. I would love for the early game to be as varied and interesting as the 35+ game is. But as long as this isn't said, I'm forced to assume that we are not getting anything better than what we've been vaguely promised, because why wouldn't they tell us so if we were?

It may be that GR has lots of content yet to be revealed. If so, why? They surely know what most of the content must be by now (and if they don't, that's probably worrisome). Hell, I doubt too many people would complain (some would, because it's the way of the world and especially these forums) if a list of features was given with a caveat that some things might only be added to Praetoria in the issue following GR (provided they actually are added and don't turn out like bases did).

If it doesn't, that's fine too, and I expect them to spin up what I personally find a rather lacklustre set of goodies as shiny as they can - but I still expect, by the time they are asking for my money, for them to be as clear as possible about what my money is going towards. GR might be so awesome I'd happily preorder it, but as is, I can't imagine paying for it when I have no idea what it actually contains beyond side-switching and two powersets.

Oh, I see.

During the sneak peek, they talked of levels 1-20, therefore, nine months later, THERE WILL ONLY BE CONTENT FOR 1-20!!!1!!

Makes perfect sense. We all know there's no such thing as continuing development.

If you go back through the last 1000 or so of GG's posts she has stated several times - like she knows its a fact - that it is 1 to 20 content. That is apparently what they said at HeroCon months ago. And she has pretty much been a skipping record drilling that 1 fact home.

I have read many many threads/posts voicing concern over this issue. And many people have stated the same pew pew responce, that if you dont have CoX already, blah blah. This is NOT a stand alone game, yada yada...

All of that compiled with the lack of true Dev responce on this issue, is why many people are worried that 1 to 20, is just going to be a dissappointment. Now certainly you read the part where she said she is already planning on buying 100$ worth of this expansion. Shelling out that kind of money for 1 to 20 content, would irritate most people. Especially since its in the beginning of the game, and only takes a few hours to get through, and will likely have a replayability of maybe 5 to 1o times, depending on each individuals altitis taken into account.

Most people we know right now PL through the low levels to get Stamina all slotted up, and then start actually playing the game, which means they skip 1 to 20.

The 1-20 content is the Praetorian storyline - there's been nothing said yet about what sort of content is involved for Heroes and Villains who switch sides - all we know is that it isn't easy, and it's "not a lightswitch".

well,i will wait til the full set comes out, i do not want to buy a "pig in a poke".

well, yeah, we knew that you would be upset about it, i doubt anyone is surprised there, but i mean the rest of us. We cant make the buy yet, and have no reason to conclude that between now and that date that no new information will be released, in fact one would have to have a major chip on one's shoulder to make such a inference. that said, its an expansion, and given the number of "vested" players that this game has, a sale is kind of a foregone conclusion if you are a 5 year or so vet, copious net-complaining or not, if you have been here that long, you are likely going to go with the flow, because otherwise you will be playing the game with a portion of content missing relative to the other players.

now as for the cash grab, perdition to felines notwitstanding, curiosity compels me, what does that mean to you? Paragon studios is a company, so producing products for money is kind of their reason for being, the seeming bone of contention is a cost that varies between 10-15 dollars, depending on your subscription plan, which one can forfiet for the right to play a new power set months before anyone else can, and really before any of us could have expected to, prior to the announcement. so what is the grab here? anyone who wants can wait and get the pack later and get the extra month(outside of the real issue with non-us players for whom i do hope somethign is worked out), but outside of expecting a transaction of money for goods, what is the cash grab, i'm just not seeing it. Im seeing a slightly convoluted but standard method of sales here, with an added bonus for people willing to put down the cash early, something fairly common in mmos.

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