Discussion: Another City of Heroes article on ZAM!

The love just keeps coming today! ZAM! (who recently published an interview with Nate "Second Measure" Birkholz) spent some time in the new City of Heroes: Going Rogue content and tells everyone why CoH is still second to none.

Enjoy the read!

And this time, the article should stay where it is!

Nice to see that it's not just a love-fest/bash-fest. The reviewer points out the good (seven years of lore, history, and sheer time on the block), the bad (the game showing its age in terms of graphics), and the ugly (the admittedly neglected subfactions of the community, namely PvP and basebuilding). It's good to know that despite the younger and fresher contenders, Pwyff thinks we can easily stay on top, but I think PS could learn quite a bit from this article, especially if it takes the time to read between the lines.

Michelle
aka
Samuraiko/Dark_Respite

Great article, not a PR piece just an honest review.

Good read - makes some valid points and this is definitely the kind of write up you want when your latest 'competitor' is still enjoying the post-launch spotlight.

So, devs... how does it feel being the 400lb gorilla of the superhero genre?

I must be missing something -- all I get is "story not found".

Good Read

Now lets see what the Dev's take away from this.

A well deserved, "Hey you guys are the best" mixed in with "What are you going to do to stay there?"

I do hope they take the criticism as something that they really should improve on. Bases have pretty much languished from the start of the game. Some of the things that have been suggested in the past really should be revisited and at least attempted.

Whilst I would LOVE to see bases get some love (and PvP even thought I don't do it), I just don't see it happening in the near future. That is not even really a complaint. Been with the game a long time, and don't plan on leaving any time soon. And I think our Dev's DO listen to us, I just don't think they see the game the same way the players do. I dunno, it would be cool if the read this and kick in some stuff for the "sub groups", but I just don't see it happening. The whole "Needs of the many..." thing.

Good to see article. And fair. The point about fixing abandoned systems wasn't suddle at all. Which is a good thing. The Devs need to hear it.

I'll just clarify what I'm about to type with saying that I only really skimmed the whole article but focused on the last question: "Anything coming for PvP?" and the answer I read was basically, "no"

Sure there are 'fixes' or whatever that happen but there seemed to be a little running around the bush to answer the question

Interestingly enough, I am impressed with this article.

As others have said, this doesn't bash nor overly praise CoH/Paragon Studios, but alights to its strengths and weaknesses in relation to the other superhero MMOs.

Key and critical to this, in my opinion, is the article's ending statement, identifying the lack of PvP and Base Building updates/overhaul and/or fixes. I am 100% in agreeance with this, and as this article keenly pointed out, some attention should be brought to these two aspects of the game.

Personally, I strongly urge the devs and designers to rethink waiting off on changes to PvP and Base Building much longer. I know the Incarnate System is a kinetic train barelling down the tracks, but, remember, the passengers might want to 'step off the train' to see the sights (other game content) that up to now have been blurring by the window of this highspeed Incarnate train.

With this fair review from ZAM!, I would imagine the devs and producers might want to schedule a meeting and maybe rethink about putting in whatever is the new awesomesauce 'system x' and instead fix PvP and Base Building (and for that matter, a bit more attention to Mission Archietect).

Food for thought.

Otherwise, great job Paragon Studios! It seems you have been promoted to 'gorilla' status in the superhero MMO genre!

I've been with COH for 6 of the 7 years, while my brother was with game from Beta but took some time off in the middle somewhere but has returned to the COH fold now. I have had times where I didn't play alot and i am not someone who can sit and play CoH for hours on end , therefore even though i have 6 years plus of playing time I only have 1 lvl 50 character. We more casual players enjoy the game just as much even though some content is impossible for us to complete. Well it is for me since in the last year or two it has become difficult to find teams, and since some of the TF's take 6 or more hours [which is a ridiculous amount of time in my opinion] they just aren't going to happen with PuG. That aside there is plenty to do in CoH even at this point, with all the possible permutations of characters that you can make, some combinations alone can make the game more challenging.
I personally avoid the PvP zones since i tend to be solo, and tire very quickly of being ganged up on by other players, plus I didn't buy the game for the PvP aspect anyway. I can't say what would improve PvP because of this.
I would like to see some kind of base option for individual characters, which has been hinted at many times but has never materialized. As to SG/VG base building changes, i am not sure what the issues are other than cost of some stuff. i have never built a base from scratch but have a inherited a few SG/VG's when players stopped playing. I have made a few upgrades to bases but have found no need to do major renovations so far.

So what will the Dev team do with the suggestions in the article? That is anyones guess, but i expect to be here for long time to come.

Take the Magic: The Gathering 'What Color Are You?' Quiz.

The groundswell of support for PvP on the forums surprises me. Can it be even most carebears think PvP has been in the wood shed long enough? A rollback to Issue 12 PvP would create a firm foundation on which to build PvP's future. Remember how fun the Reculse's Victory test even was? I sure do. I want that experience back.

As for bases...rip out the whole system and start from scratch. Look at the Bat Cave. Look at the Hall of Justice/Watch Tower. Bases need to be that cool, and functional, and accessible to the solo player as well as the largest Super Group. Tall order, but if you can't do that, don't bother with bases at all.

WARNING: I bold names.