Ask A Dev - Melissa "War Witch" Bianco - Answers!

First Question:

I'm currently downloading the Lineage 2 F2P and I can't help noticing that they use NCoin, and it says in their FAQ that NCoins and PP aren't interchangable.

Could you PLEASE change that sentiment to you will be converting from PP to NCoins soon? Frankly, I have always loved CoH/CoV; and, at this time, I consider COH/CoV to be #1 of 3 of the Superhero MMORPGs (CoH/CoV, CO, and DCUO) and DCUO to be #3 of 3. But, the two reasons I'd choose DCUO over you is:

1. Everything (PC wise) purchased in any of their games' cash shops is purchasable with Station Cash.

2. Through their All Access program, I pay $20 a month to subscribe to ALL of SOE's games. For me, that's $15 for Gold in EQ2 (which I find their offer to be extremely practical enough to pay it) and $5 for Legendary in DCUO.

As much as I'd love to play your games, having different currencies between your games will pretty much alienate me when I know SOE uses the same currency across ALL of their F2P games.


Second question:
I bought your gunslinger bundle with my 400 PP this morning. It has left me want more stocking options than "Fishnet" and "Full Fishnet". Could we have stocking options like Roxy Richter's Rose Stockings in Scott Pilgrim vs. The World?

Hiya War Witch! I was just wondering, are there any plans in the future to allow users to access some of the VIP costumes on tier 9 if we are still a dozen or so points away? I know that seems counter-intuitive, but those costumes are temporary, and I am practically drooling over the new Phoenix wings, however, Im like 12 points away (tier 7) and will never earn that many rewards points before those costume pieces are rotated out and replaced. Are there any plans to maybe issue one "ultra" point per year or something, to allow those of us who have been playing for over a year or two, to access at least one of the VIP costume pieces before they are replaced? Just wondering.

Can Paragon finally fix PVP once and for all please?

PS: 'can we haz magnetix powerset?'

Would it be possible to have the ninjas from the ninja mastermind set use the Ninja run animation when running?

Will we see more animal transformation travel powers? With all the werewolves I'm really surprised there is not wolf travel power instead of a coyote. Panther might look cool too.

A monthly directional/informational letter from you like March would really go a long way in dealing with the communication gap that is growing between the devs and the wider playing base.

Questions for War Witch

Can we expect to see any base related love in the near future?

What is your opinion on a new map editor vs new base tools?

Have you been to The Twisted Burrow?

Hello Ms. Bianco: I like asked a question, some of my character use a helmet and their neck have no protected. Will there be any new neck armor option in future? I like the robot/clockwork faces with neck texture but something the neck look funny (big near the head then smaller near torso) Please could you make this a option when we create or update our character please?

Not sure where to ask this so i'll ask here

Is it possible to allow VIPs to purchase content that gets locked out for them in the market like Zone Packs, VIP Power sets, and Story Arcs? Or to allow the support group to add those packs to accounts?

It would be nice to be able to get the above when its on sale to use after the active sub ends, but the system as it is now won't give the option if you are a current subscriber.

I want a BlueClaw Task Force, i mean a WW task force!

BTW when you guys create a new zone can my main be the trainer in it? Hes been around a long time and he knows a lot of stuff. Like how not to draw to much agro, where to get the best deals on IO's, how to ask a carnie girls out and NOT get lured into a trap! You know, the important things lowbies need to know.

More of a suggestion, or plea, than a question: could you please add the ability to refuse "prank" powers like Snowball and Flying Disc to Null the Gull? People are using these powers to grief by spamming them, and ignore doesn't help against an hour-long pelting with snowballs. I have to figure they use a similar accept/deny mechanic to Fortune Telling, so hopefully the auto-accept of these powers can be toggled off.

Are there any plans to ever start using the American English (correct ) spelling of the word "judgment" in this game? Every time I see "judgement," it practically sends me into a lexical paroxysm that would do Mrs. Bristol (my 3rd Grade teacher) proud.

I'm hoping that we can get an alternative animation for "hurl boulder". It seems silly that a small female controller would tear up a huge boulder and hurl it. It would, however, make more sense if we could chose an animation similar to the attack used by Koalin of Earth. They have a "gravel toss"-like ability (similar to the propel power in gravity control).

Thanks,
@T-Wolf

New Content for Super Group bases??

Just some quick ideas about SG bases. I'm not sure how much people actually use their SG base anymore (since F2P), but I would love to see some new content added.

Examples would include:
1. space station with observation deck. You would teleport into an airlock room, then have an orbital view of sun and moon. Maybe even some shooting stars and the occasional Rikti attack on your base.

2. underwater HQ. You would have cutscene of small submersible and enter into a pressurized wet dock. There could be an underwater observation area to watch fish and sharks swim by the window. Maybe you'd even catch a glimpse of Sally or Lusca looking in??

3. underground base accessable via a nemesis tunneling machine. There would be lava rivers flowing in some rooms and roots / vines hanging from the ceiling? Your entrance room would have "gates of hell" (or pearly gates) as you come into the base.

4. a mystical inner sanctum themed base that your entrance room has a CoT portal. It could also have floating spirits and more arcane feel.

Other items I'd love to place would include: cars, motorcycles, NPC servants, etc

FInal idea: being able to have a "Hall of Fame" for SG members. The idea that if you earn 500,000 prestige it would unlock a statue / wax figure of that toon that could be palced in the SG base.

That's it for now. Still brainstorming for some new ways to make the SG idea seem less cookie-cutter.

See you in Paragon,
@T-Wolf

The code for bases is extremely old, extremely fragile, and extremely messy - the chances of any major new additons or changes to the base system are pretty close to zero.
Basically, the devs can either leave bases as they are, scrap the entire system and rebuild it from the ground up, or add a new system of customizable personal player housing as a separate system from bases.
The personal player housing option would give them the biggest return on their investment, as while the basic types of housing would very likely be free for VIPs, the accessories would be purchasable on the market.

If Base Editing *ever* gets a rebuild to be both Stable and Easily Extensible on the development side, a major point of interest would be coding it all in such a way as to make it compatible/useful to Architect Entertainment with an eye towards being able to use it as Dev Tool for creating additional Mission Maps for general release. That then gives you "three hits for one bang" which seems to be the minimum threshold for cross-applicability to getting movement on outstanding issues like the Legacy Base Editor.

It's the end. But the moment has been prepared for ...

In Memory of A City of Heroes

To save the day
Don't want to fade away
Live on to fight
...
That my dream
to see the heroes keep flight

So many creations
This news brings us devistation

Battle cries
Yelling don't let our true love die

Passion runs
Friends and fun

The heart of creation
Charaters brought to life
Just by our imagination

Hear our plea
Don't shut down our community

Be like the ones we create
Save our City of heroes

9-2-12
10:03 A.M.