CoX Game Engine
By
1VB_FIST,
Posted on: 2010-03-31 15:44 in Archetypes and Powers General Discussion
Quote:
Cryptic developed the game engine in house, and the original credits for the game credited no other licensed technology. |
Originally Posted by Sinistar6000
Hi all,
Not sure what section to put this in but I have a few questions about the CoX game engine. Was this engine built from scratch, or is it mod of Quake or some other engine? |
Quote:
| When NCSoft bought CoX was the engine the main part of the deal? Did NCSoft actually purchase the "building" that housed the servers as well as the engine and all intellectual property of CoX? |
What is known is that NCSoft seems to have a perpetual license to use the engine technologies developed for City of Heroes. The license does not extend to the code fork and API swap that produced the Champions Online engine.
Quote:
| The reason I am asking these questions is that I think the engine is a stroke of genius. I think the main programmer should get a shout out, because I have never played such an engrossing powerful, fast, MMO. |
The original programmers are credited as follows:
Shannon Posniewski - Lead
Matt Woomer
Martin Simpson
CW Bennet
Mark Kalmes
Jimb Esser
Michael Parent
Jonathan Shieh
Quote:
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[That being said playing with Mission Architect has really given me some great ideas and I would love for NCSoft or some other company/person (Like me!) to make a new game that has not placed limitations on this great engine. This game was crazy great when there was no travel suppression or cap on number of pets etc. people affected by powers etc. and I look forward to another game option using the same engine. |
While the core staff of developers responsible for the original vision of City of Heroes being implemented, specifically War Witch (Miss Melissa), Manticore (Sean Fish), Positron (Mr. Miller), and Pohsyb (CW Bennet) to name a few are still around, their goals with the game are fairly far removed from the goals of the game that launched years ago.
1. I'm fairly certain the game was built from scratch. I can guarantee it wasn't built on top of Quake. It's actually extremely difficult to significantly change game genre when using someone else's engine.
2. As I understand it, the engine that Cryptic built is being leased by NCSoft, which is why the Cryptic logo still appears. I suspect the building housing the actual servers (or, buildings, since we've got servers located on the west coast, the east coast, and in Germany) was either already owned/leased by NCSoft, or was always and still is a 3rd party server farm.
Quality of gameplay has very little to do with the engine. That's all in game design.
Your best bet for getting a new game with the same engine would be to contact Cryptic asking about leasing their engine (or get someone to do it for you). Then build a game. Of course, the new game can't be City of Heroes at all. And building a new game is really hard and takes a long time, even if you've got an existing engine to work with. You'll also find that most people agree that the 'limitations' you're complaining about actually made this game better.
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/36641/My-Little-Exalt
Quote:
Hey, don't forget pohsyb (CW Bennet) |
Originally Posted by je_saist
While the core staff of developers responsible for the original vision of City of Heroes being implemented, specifically War Witch (Miss Melissa), Manticore (Sean Fish), Positron (Mr. Miller), are still around, their goals with the game are fairly far removed from the goals of the game that launched years ago.
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http://www.fimfiction.net/story/36641/My-Little-Exalt
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oi. Yeah. I somehow skipped over him. I don't know how.
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Originally Posted by Fleeting Whisper
Hey, don't forget pohsyb (CW Bennet)
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Quote:
It's the box.
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Originally Posted by je_saist
oi. Yeah. I somehow skipped over him. I don't know how.
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"Mastermind Pets operate...differently, and aren't as easily fixed. Especially the Bruiser. I want to take him out behind the woodshed and pull an "old yeller" on him at times." - Castle
Quote:
Taking 6 years to define "what your game is" would be the textbook definition of catastrophic mission failure.
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Originally Posted by je_saist
it's not such a good suggestion for City of Heroes which is still in the process of defining what exactly the game is.
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Quote:
Or the textbook definition of "actively developed MMO"
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Originally Posted by Judas_Ace
Taking 6 years to define "what your game is" would be the textbook definition of catastrophic mission failure.
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http://www.fimfiction.net/story/36641/My-Little-Exalt
Quote:
Not even close. Good MMOs pick what they do well and go with it. For example, this game isn't still deciding what it is. It's a Superhero combat simulator. Everything is oriented towards making a custom superhero and fighting villains with them. WoW is a PvE Raid and Loot game. While some have other elements (Like tacked on PvP), the core of the game is very clear and focused.|
Originally Posted by Fleeting Whisper
Or the textbook definition of "actively developed MMO"
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Some games that couldn't decide "what they were":
Star Wars Galaxies
Tabula Rasa
Auto Assault
Hellgate, London
See the pattern?
Quote:
I think you may be mis-applying devolving (SWG, HGL, etc) for evolving (CoX). Although I can see the point about being indecisive, I think there is a solid direction with continuous development for CoX. People will eventually get sick of something that is static. I took 18 months off of this game after ED went live, and now the evolution post-ed (IO system) has assuaged some of that fubardness called ED. I do feel that most of the changes over the duration of this game have been for the better, although suppression has still irked the hell out of me since mobility is a key facet of all combat lol.
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Originally Posted by Judas_Ace
Not even close. Good MMOs pick what they do well and go with it. For example, this game isn't still deciding what it is. It's a Superhero combat simulator. Everything is oriented towards making a custom superhero and fighting villains with them. WoW is a PvE Raid and Loot game. While some have other elements (Like tacked on PvP), the core of the game is very clear and focused.
Some games that couldn't decide "what they were": Star Wars Galaxies Tabula Rasa Auto Assault Hellgate, London See the pattern? |
A whole bunch of 50's.
Quote:
That mobility isn't a "facet" of "active"combat in CoH is something that took me a long while to work my head around. I liked the example I saw somebody else come up with though. Combat in CoH is like combat in Comics.|
Originally Posted by 1VB_FIST
I think you may be mis-applying devolving (SWG, HGL, etc) for evolving (CoX). Although I can see the point about being indecisive, I think there is a solid direction with continuous development for CoX. People will eventually get sick of something that is static. I took 18 months off of this game after ED went live, and now the evolution post-ed (IO system) has assuaged some of that fubardness called ED. I do feel that most of the changes over the duration of this game have been for the better, although suppression has still irked the hell out of me since mobility is a key facet of all combat lol.
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- Each attack is a panel on the page.
- During that panel you can't do anything but the action in the panel.
- After the panel is over you can pick another action
- Whether or not that action is running away
- or throwing another attack.
***
Quote:
| Taking 6 years to define "what your game is" would be the textbook definition of catastrophic mission failure. |
Okay, obviously, I'm being overly sarcastic here in making my point, but given your other posts in this thread it needs to be made with a sledgehammer, or else I'm afraid you won't get subtle undertones or implied meanings.
For several years now City of Heroes has been the only superhero genre MMO on the market. For the most part the City of Heroes franchise has largely dictated what a superhero MMO should be, and what it should accomplish. However, that market-position is changing. There are competitors entering the market. One of which failed, in quite a dramatic manner, largely due to the incompetence of the development staff and publisher. Upcoming competitors, however, probably are not going to make the same mistake, and will more than likely seek to take the definition(s) and expectation(s) of a SuperHero MMORPG in different directions than those forged by the Cryptic Studios / Paragon Studios Developers.
This is why I say that CoH is still defining what it is. For a long time, it has simply been The SuperHero MMORPG, and weathered it's first challenger's assault while maintaining that distinction. However, as stated, neither Marvel or DC are likely to repeat the catastrophic disasters committed by the current Cryptic Studios and Infogrames. In light of these upcoming properties, CoH has to set itself as what it is against those properties, rather than simply setting itself as the only contender in it's own market.
Hi all,
Not sure what section to put this in but I have a few questions about the CoX game engine.
Was this engine built from scratch, or is it mod of Quake or some other engine?
When NCSoft bought CoX was the engine the main part of the deal? Did NCSoft actually purchase the "building" that housed the servers as well as the engine and all intellectual property of CoX?
The reason I am asking these questions is that I think the engine is a stroke of genius. I think the main programmer should get a shout out, because I have never played such an engrossing powerful, fast, MMO.
That being said playing with Mission Architect has really given me some great ideas and I would love for NCSoft or some other company/person (Like me!) to make a new game that has not placed limitations on this great engine.
This game was crazy great when there was no travel suppression or cap on number of pets etc. people affected by powers etc. and I look forward to another game option using the same engine.
I am PL in RL.
Freedom- Magnet Man, Hott Sauce, Stand-Up Comic