Make Your Case (Plummit)

If done well, pretty much any zone could use a revamp. Done poorly, I would prefer no revamps at all.

In general I don't like the new phasing tech. I dislike that I can't use Recall Friend across any appreciable distance in Atlas. I also don't think it was properly used in Atlas, because there was nothing done in the zone that couldn't have been done better with instanced maps.

That said, one zone that could properly use phasing tech is Croatoa. As the story advances there, the zone populations and features could change. It's also a zone that is small and not much of a crossroads, so I find I rarely use Recall Friend or ATT there.

EDIT: In fact, maybe phasing tech is more appropriately used in the hazard zones, as they tend to tell a single story that the player progresses through. So in addition to Croatoa, maybe aspects of the Hollows, Striga, and Faultline could change as the player moves through the arcs.

Possibly phasing tech could also find a role in large special maps used in new task force or trial missions?

Other zones that could use a graphical or play-oriented revamp:

1) Shadow Shard. Obviously there are possibilities here for a top-level co-op zone, incarnate missions, task force revamps, and so on.

2) Boomtown. Wasn't this going to get a revamp back in 2006? At present, there's nothing attractive about this zone; it's been left idle too long. It's the place where Council go to die before you can harvest them for Numina, and where Bertha hides her big botty. A fair bit of old lore ties into Boomtown; if this zone gets a revamp, I hope the old lore will be exploited and added to, not ignored.

3) Steel Canyon / Skyway City / Talos. These zones could use the same textures in a graphical update, taking some of the new buildings found in Atlas Park and maybe adding a few.

4) Brickstown / KR / IP / Perez. These zones could use a graphical update featuring a bit more of a Gotham style. I like the idea of doing something with the Zig in Bricks, and maybe explaining some of the mystery of the Mashu Bridge. And definitely keep the giant "coin" in Kings Row ... it always reminds me of Golden Age vigilantes, like the old Batman. While I like the grittiness of these zones, it could be given slightly greater emphasis. I also like the idea of adding architectural features that underscore a bit more of the magic theme in these zones, as they have a tendency to look too blankly industrial. I believe the architecture needs to reflect in some way the district names; a district like Seven Gates could look a bit more sinister or sublime. Of course, some Gothic features developed for these zones could also find a place in certain districts in the more upscale zones in #3 above, like Astral District in Skyway.

It was suggested earlier in this thread that Perez get a phasing tech makeover. I would recommend against this, as it would disable Recall Friend across a fairly large zone that features an extensive maze.

Also, if IP gets a makeover, please put a second train stop in the southern end of the map.

Since I'm not going to be at the Pummit, here's the case I would make, and about how I would make it in three minutes.

I would vote Skyway City as next in line for a revamp. There are a number of reasons. First, it would allow us to extend the improvements and technology introduced in Atlas moving forward, so newer players get to continue to experience them as they level. Rather than shotgunning them around, I feel it would be better if the devs extended them upward in level from Atlas through at least one "teen" zone, then through a 20s zone (probably Talos), then into Bricks or Founders, and on up, over time.

Second, there is a way to connect the revamp to the lore. Rather than simply polishing the zone up, its worth noting the Admiral Sutter task force basically destroys Skyway City. So there is a canonical reason to change the zone in almost any way desired. We aren't limited to what the zone looks like now in any way.

Third, compared to the relatively flat and thus accessible Steel Canyon, Skyway's design makes it much harder to navigate. While earlier access to travel powers reduces this problem, its also not a *fun* zone to navigate in many areas because you're surrounded by relatively uninteresting geometry, particularly near the center of the zone. I believe it would be interesting to rethink making Skyway City vertical, but more visually and navigably interesting.

Fourth, I believe there is an additional opportunity to revamp the Troll Rave zone event so that it is more interesting and engaging, and not just an endless source of Troll spawns.

Fifth, there is another interesting opportunity to enhance the Babbage encounter that occurs during the Synapse task force.

Tying this all together, I think there's a way to connect Paragon City with Praetoria. We have a recently destroyed zone that needs to be rebuilt, and huge numbers of refugees from Praetoria entering Primal Earth. There are lots of interesting ways to go here. Skyway City could become a Praetorian ghetto. Or it could become the place where Praetorians resettle and help rebuild the zone with Praetorian architectural sensibilities. It seems to be a unique opportunity to connect a zone revamp with a major storyline in a way that allows for deep exploration, unlike Atlas that is and had to be roughly similar to its original form.

Do the Trolls become a new force in Paragon after an influx of poor Praetorian refugees swells their ranks? Do we have Primal and Praetorian Clockwork fighting for supremacy? Does a new Praetorian spire rise in the center of Skyway? Revamping Skyway could be an incredibly rich mine of ideas for future content.

Thank you.

Good points, Arcanaville.

Another good reason for the Skyway "teen" range is it connects directly to the other "teen" zone that, while several years old, is still newer, fresher, and well-designed (Faultline).

I often took my characters Atlas-->Hollows-->Faultline-->Striga--->RWZ, all zones that have primarily self-contained arcs themed for the zone, and all content that's newer than the stock CoH zones. Faultline's contacts are level-separated in a way that the content from one isn't enough to get you all the way to the next one, so I'd have to pop out to skyway for random missions before returning. Filling in some of that "teen" gap with an adjacent zone would certainly help.

I'd twist Independence Port from north-south to east-west, then put it in place of the Baumton Canal, making Valor Bridge be the connection between Steel Canyon and Boomtown.
The harbor would then become the main entrance to the city from the sea, with a huge statue standing with one foot on either side of the entrance, and lots of trendy shops and apartments near it, but the zone would gradually become darker and grittier further away from the sea entrance to the east with Terra Volta being merged into the zone at the far western end.

I won't be at the Plummit, so for all those attending:

You guys have to buy the devs a drink.

Not "everyone pitch in to buy a drink." Each and every person has to buy a drink for a dev. They deserve it.

Really... they do.






....And then, when they're good and plastered, get them to spill the beans on everything Paragon Studios is working on.


I'll be waiting for your report.

KR, but only so there is a smoother progression of presentation and content from the initial starter zone to the next. As it stands, it is a bit jarring.

maybe a KR/Steel macro zone? just a random ponder

I wish they would get rid of all the AE building and make a small AE zone ... a hazard zone that requires you to be level 10 to get into

Quote:

Originally Posted by Paladiamors I love you, I Burnt the Toast!

Maybe a revamp of the Shadow Shard could be condensing all the zones into one, and a Heroes/Villains PVP zone like Recluse's Victory, where different aspects of Rularuu are struggling against each other for power, and the sky would change from orange to purple depending on which was in power. Of course, using the Nemesis base content from the RWZ arcs would look fantastic. Some Level 50 story arcs would be great there, and all the contacts would be present if the zone was in "day orange" or "night purple."

The discussion at the summit about the shadow shard showed the devs are kind of hesitant to tackle it, largely because it would be such a big project and if started might even be a multi-issue revamp, potentially dropping it from 4 to 2 or 3 zones instead, potentially being co-op.

The other zones discussed were Perez Park, Independence Port, Boomtown, Eden, Striga Isle, and king's row.

The devs also had some guidelines and rules laid out, which I kind of which they'd spoiled ahead of time to maybe help people refine their ideas.

The first was whether or not people wanted the level range to remain the same or change.

Then, to declare what the defining point or centerpiece of the zone was (Ex: Moth Graveyard being the epicenter for everything nasty in Dark Astoria and the most visually corrupted area).

Enemy make up was limited to 3 different groups, though a 4th could be included provided a compelling enough case was presented.

The zone arc could be 6 arcs long or 3 each for heroes/villains separately. Participants were also asked what the central story or theme of the zone would be.

Was a fairly interesting panel.