Why is it harder to revamp a zone than to make a new one?

I'll toss my vote in again like I have before for choosing to revamp/re-do old zones and not so much creating new zones.

One poster said it best: CoH: revamp zones, CoV: add zones.

And revamping a zone doesn't mean a full tileset/layout different like Faultline had done to it (although something Boomtown would need some work on it done)....but, like others have said, just add some contacts/story arcs, maybe a small TF of a sort and 'bam!' much better! Now people would have a reason to go there beyond getting sent there to do a defeat x mission.

And . . . Whether the devs, OR we,
prefer new or revamped zones, . . .

We need remember,
New, added zones always will dilute the average number of people per zone,
at any given time.
.

Utilize old zones better? YES.

Re-design old zones (change geometry)? NO.


The second option is almost as resource-draining as creating a brand, new zone. When they can create new, improved zones from scratch that are optimized for using Ultra Mode for only a little bit more resources than 'developing' an old zone, then it just doesn't make sense to 'develop' an old zone.

Is anyone really that much in love with Boomtown, that they want to see it given the Faultline treatment when the devs can make a brand new zone that's twice as good as a 'developed' Boomtown?

Let the old maps get the occasional, minor 'facelift', like what the Holllows got. Let them be settings for new Giant Monster events, or the basis for new MA maps. But just let them be and give us more of the new, improved zones.

I'd like to see old Boomtown become a 5th v Council zone with story contacts like Faultline. We know it's been being rebuilt since CoV has a mission to wreck their rebuilding efforts. "Newly Risen Columns in Boomtown!"

Dark Astoria has had ideas for a Trial or TF for it floating around for ages, about the Sleeper under the cemetery. Paranormal investigators and mystics could have some short storylines to flesh the place out more.

Crey's Folly and Perez are...uhm, just sort of there. I got nothing against the zones, but no idea on how to go about rebuilding them. Same with Eden...it's a nice zone, and it even has a Trial. But it's just none are places you ever bother to go to. Best I could think of is Police Scanner maps are EXTREMELY limited...maybe Hazard Zones could have scanner missions with different sets of maps and different enemy factions just to break the monotony of it all sometimes. Don't know...they're just relics of not being sure if players would prefer instanced maps or street sweeping teams. Guess they could have Meg Mason type contacts who provide patrol missions to clean out target neighborhoods. Street sweeping teams went the way of the dodo with the difficulty slider, decent door completion hits and reduced indoor debt from defeat. Dead zones, all MMOs accumulate them.

oh, and i almost forgot about Terra Volta. Meh, TV isn't all that interesting a place. Never has been. Maybe they could put in a story arc about radiation leaks from people trying to blow the darn reactor up so much having a mutative effect on the denizens of TV (Freakshow turning into Blighteds? Recolor Shivans and have them becoming a problem like Cap's gremlins infesting the power grid?)

So I've complained often enough about wanting to see blueside mission arcs tweaked to keep them in a single zone. If this was combined with giving contacts a call button much earlier in their arcs, it could be used to revitalize ailing hazard zones with minimal change - you're already sent into them randomly often enough, but it could be interesting if entire arcs that made sense there would take place in those zones. For example, Banished Pantheon arcs could take place in Dark Astoria, Devouring Earth arcs could focus on Crey's Folly, and so on.

While Ohhh Shiny is nice I agree COH has enough zones. 22 zones, not counting PVP and CoOp is certainly enough and the fact is most don't need major overhauls just give people something to do.

Perez Park look great but aside from a few contacts sending you in there for one mission or battling Kraken the only people you find in there are the serious badge hounds hunting Skulls, etc. Leave it just as is and add some contacts, stores, and a Hospital and players may actually show up.. like they did with The Hollows.

Dark Astoria.. same thing. The zone itself looks great but aside from having a Hospital its just like Perez not much to do but hunt BP Masks and Adamastor when some "other zone" contact sends you in for one solo mission.

Creys Folly is another that has a great look but unless you want to work on your Rikti monkey count or fight Jurassic not much to do.

There are a whole list of more zones that could use a touch up NOT a major overhaul. You want people to stop by give them something to do. Sure it would take some doing but all we are taling is adding some contacts, throw in some stores (make them people like in KR or the Hollows so you don't need to redesign a building, and even a field hospital
(like the Hollows) has to be easier to code than adding a new building.

COV could use a FEW new zones just to add some flavor but lets not get crazy like COH. I think the reason Hero side has empty zones is the fact it just has too many. At levels 10-20 are you going to spend time in Steel Canyon or Skyway? The majority would answer Steel simply because it has Wentworths and is easier to get around in which traslates to more people in zone and a better chance to find a team. Same thing with Talos over IP. Bricks and FF get about the same amount of players but neither has a WW so it's one less draw. A few new zones on the red side would add some additional flavor but lets NOT get to the pont where we have as many dead zones villain side as heroes.

All Dark Astoria needs is some Faultline style contacts with an overarching storyline between them and possibly a Taskforce to top it all off where you face the 'Sleeper under the graveyard'. Nobody is saying to remodel it.

As Techbot is saying, Revamp doesn't always mean Remodel, it means add stuff to do in the zones that lack stuff to do!