GR, Bases & SGs... Opportunity Lost
By
American_Angel,
Posted on: 2010-08-12 24:26 in Base Construction
I'm going to lay down a marker.
If there's still no Base Love by Issue 20 ... or even the hope of any ... there never will be any. EVER.
It's the end. But the moment has been prepared for ...
I didn't actually expect anything base wise with Rogue/I18. If we are lucky we will get something with I20. Not sure why I think that but it feels right. Perhaps that will give them time to design a better system which will allow exhisting bases to transported over to the new, cool actually functions intuitively system I hope they design.
I wasn't around for the CoP but I'm glad they brought it back if it makes people happy. Rewards are what they are. I still run Katies just because it is fun and I like to have the option of having the hat. I never use it but I always figure one day I will.
I understand what you are saying though. This might of been a missed oportunity for them. New and returning players will be everywhere.
A missed opportunity is definately better then a 2nd broken system. Not that I am totally sure ours is broken but I think they could make it easier and give us more toys to play with.
Think that is all I have to say. Could be wrong, I often am.
Bashful Banshee.
Enjoy your day please.
You know I feel your frustration and disappointment. And, I have to admit I had a real "WTF!?!" moment when I realized Praetorians would not have access to any kind of base feature.
Considering that the first character of any new account will be forcibly funneled through Praetoria, I feel that the lack of some sort of base amenities is a seriously short-sighted decision. I've not generally been a big proponent of "personal apartments" in the past, but it seems that this would have been a perfect opportunity to implement something along those lines.
Missed opportunity, indeed. *nod*
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Quote:
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Don�t say things. What you are stands over you the while, and thunders so that I cannot hear what you say to the contrary. - R.W. Emerson |
YUMMY Low-Hanging Fruit for BASE LUV
I have two major issues with the way bases have been handled in GR.
Firstly, I run (several) solo SGs. Losing the amount of prestige from level 1 to 20 is very disappointing.
I see how tricky it would be to choose VG or SG while 'neutral' but perhaps once a couple of missions had been completed? Even picking a side at level five, anything! There has to be a better way to do this than lose that amount of prestige.
Secondly, not being able to use team mates bases when Vig/Rogue and on the other side (especially Rogues in Paragon) is incredibly badly designed.
Whether the Devs think all side swapping will be Hero to Villain, I don't know (where the lack of addiitonal travel won't be such an issue) but Villain to Hero is an utter pain the way it stands.
People without SGs have eagerly taken up my offers to join mine just for a TF (no SG mode required) because they wanted access to the porters.
What better way to incite someone to turn full hero or villain but with the lure of a shiney base. But to do that, they need to be able to see it, by getting into it and a good opportunity is a Task Force/team team leader enabling team mates of any faction into the base.
You have a team mate, why on earth wouldn't you let them into the base? They can't DO anything to it.
Then we move on to the lack of additional base items. There's some lovely little bits in Praetoria; those shrubs for example. One of the missions had a 70's wooden textured wall that'd I'd like.
I'd really like these to change - especially for travel.
SAVE CoX info:
Titan Network efforts
Saving CoX events/FB info
Yeah, they really screwed the pooch with the base/SG access when changing factions. Could have had a vast amount of base driven RP opened up... and psst, SWG is still around for JUST that reason.
Grr, I am just annoyed because honestly, almost all of GR is disappointing me, but the whole promised faction switching seems to have been totally ham handed.
"Life is what happens when you are making other plans"
I'm surprised they didn't just put in a whole new housing system called "Safehouses" or "Headquarters".
It would fit in with the arcs there, and it could give them a chance to work on something new in regard to the base design system.
While we're on the topic...it would be nice if a new contact could be placed inside the bases when we reach prestige milestones. And these contacts could unlock new base content.
We have both 'blue' and 'red' side bases... We have many members with toons in both... The ability to switch 'sides' is annoying at best, unreasonably difficult at the very least...
In theory and game concept. I can understand a 'little' as to why when initially switching sides the bases can be 'off limits' to possibly opposing factions as a whole, but if a toon is rouge or vigilant and on a team, then the moral choice is basically made, so that toon should have access to travel through a team leaders base, even if they can not join that XG until they have completed their morality transfer...
As far as base love goes, yes we all want more toys and shinies... but also think about how many toons will not be populating the streets and missions because so many will be in base edit mode as soon as any love is given... So, the base love would then transfer into a perception that there is no one teaming or gaming and will look like a lower population in game...
I'd be all for some step-up type base love... give us some reasonable goals to unlock base items, give us a 'pack' we can purchase at a reasonable price that includes base love items... The game has progressed in so many ways with new graphics and textures, it just seems like the Dev's don't want to share the keys to the toy box...
In case you ever had any doubts where bases and sg's fall in the scheme of development priority, the devs now bring you Going Rogue. I will not dispute that some will find a lot to like about this expansion (I know I actually do in many areas)... just as long as you are not looking in the direction of bases and SGs. The results there are, IMHO, as miserable as the base/sg development track record itself has been for years.
There were many opportunities here to do some really good things. GR (especially given the market merge) could have breathed new life into the utilty of bases and SGs in this game. It could have given potential new players (those starting in Praetoria) a fresh look at what it means to join and enjoy an SG at level one (or start one at level ten). It could have given the soloist (and others) a chance to switch sides and still keep their base stuff. It could have given Vigilanties and Rogues better ways to travel "to the other side" via bases. It could have opened all kinds of real gaming and RP opportunities with the OPTION of cross-faction base and SG play. We could have gone a long way toward the elimination of the red/blue "two game legacy" of CoH. In short, bases and SGs could have actually supported an expansion whose design targets switching sides and Praetoria. Instead, we got none of the above.
What we got was the return of a high difficulty low reward version of the Cathedral of Pain. Most in closed beta are saying that, without changes, this will be a "try once and then forget" type of activity.
This doesn't seem like a "good deal" to me. What do you think?
One man's terrorist is another man's freedom (or freem?) fighter; just as one man's exploit is another man's feature.