Rubberlad

I agree with ZM. The third recolor especially neutralizes the otherwise risque costume.

And word to the designers: you know female heroes can wear a Sabrina Duncan suit jacket instead of BDSM bikini wear, right?

Ah. I didnt play SSA3 or 4 yet (just 1, 2 and 5), but having just read a spoiler on Facebook, now I know why Sister Psyche and Manticore arent present. My bad, although now I'm wondering if theyll be replaced in I23 as well.

I really need to stop letting work and my publishing deadlines get in the way of my CoH time.

Guaranteed, they are only doing this now so they can sell an account-wide access token for the Midnight Club later.

Hang on a minute, where's Sister Psyche?

Sorry, that was a fat finger typo. Meant DFB aka Death From Below. My bad!

I believe the correct term is "pelvic saddle projectile gun" lest you jeopardize the game's T for Teen rating.

Best costume concept art of 2012 yet. Unfortunately, something tells me the devs would only greenlight cannon boobs for female toons. Apparently its a desperate straight guy thing. *shrug*

Those are all extremely good reference points, and I'm sure more can be had with a fuller community discussion. My point is that the choice of Club Kid and Imperial Dynasty costume packs is pretty narrow-minded niche items that really don't fit the spirit of a comic book MMO game - especially when we've had much the same already (Martial Arts pack; various modern day outfits added to the game over the years). I just can't believe that somebody thought Imperial Dynasty was a more important/"in demand" set to have over a Native American set (or a Pulp Fiction set, a Greek Mythology set, a Deep Sea Divers set, a Fairy Prince/Princess set, an Ancient Egypt set, a Golden Age Warfare/WWII set, a Private Detective set, a Mayan/Aztec set, a Race Car Driver set, an Intrepid Explorer set, a Ballerina set, a Post-Apocalypse set, etc). That we have another Roman Armor set on top of what can already be achieved just by playing ITF also seems rather redundant.

I'm just questioning the way these costume sets are chosen/prioritized. We're moving further and further away from the comic book influences this game started out with its not even funny (although I'm glad for the upcoming Space/Astronaut pack or whatever the hell its called and the Barbarian/Gunslinger packs were more "on topic").

I know folks will disagree - that's fine. Others who are probably already upset that there are no new claws/shields items with these packs might appreciate why they'd rather limited resources be put to work on those widely popular powersets instead of a Club Kid costume set. Future costume packs need to be more balanced in terms of what customizeable weapon options are made available and they need to better emulate a certain influence of the comic book genre that we've not seen represented in-game before. We really don't need even more asian-centric costumes right now; nor do we need a club kid outfit so we can roleplay the Sims in Pocket D. There are just too many other comic book/cultural influences missing in-game after 7 years that still need to be addressed.

Sorry folks, but that's the way I feel.

When somebody tells "Marketing" that we want a Native American Indian costume pack before we want an Imperial Chinese dynasty pack.

Talk about a major minority cultural theme being overlooked for regional pan-asian favortism... We already have a ton of asian-influenced costume sets in game. How about representing a long time comic book influence that has been seriously ignored by this game?

I would like to see the silver reflective effect used on male spacesuits down the road.

Sadly I could think of 5 must-have superhero themed sets I'm still waiting to see that are more appropot than Imperial Dynasty. Are we playing Aion or CoH cause both these sets seem more appropriate for Aion. Sorry, but those were really quite underwhelming.

Well hellooooooooooo Santa! (Perfect!!!)

Shame you'll never get the Devs to draw concept art like this (not enough cleavage).

Ha!

Look, all I'm offering is one perspective on the Incarnate trials problem. The OP, you, Eva and others are offering different perspectives of the same shared problem. And ultimately all these perspectives are valid regardless of who is right or wrong because thats just how people feel.

Meanwhile the Incarnate trials are still very rigid content, with self-serving opportunities readily available for some VIPs but not others to enjoy; and the Devs are scratching their heads wondering why anyone would even want solo-friendly Incarnate content. Its because not everyone wants to compete in a hostile league environment where only "the best" are welcome. And who wants to pay to maintain VIP status just to be shunned, insulted and humiliated to the point they dare not take part in the Incarnate trials at all?

No, for some folks, the fun in playing CoH - and the Incarnate trials - is being allowed to enjoy the overall content freely as they always have via lvls 1-50 rather than compulsively obsessing about the mutually exclusive lvl 50+ endgame rewards. I dont think thats a bad thing. Do you?

What you mean is: its no fun if folks aren't listening/ acting appopriately to the leader's calls... which is when it becomes the lone wolf leading the masses to action. Fun for some; boring for others (which is probably why many go off and do their own thing instead).

As Zwill already said, there are no hard requirements for participating in an Incarnate trial other than being 50 . At the same point, he acknowledges that there's an implied learning curve that every participant needs to grasp/ understand... that's a catch-22 that's always going to mess everyone up.

In no uncertain terms, not everyone is lining up to play an Incarnate trial just to LEARN how to play a CoH trial all over again after achieving level 50 (and after 50 levels of gameplay, folks should already know what they need to know to participate and enjoy an Incarnate trial - shouldn't they?!). Now if there's a *new* learning curve required to successfully enjoy the gameplay at the Incarnate trial level (as if the Incarnate trials were some kind of CoH Graduate School program), then that's a flaw in the overall design.

Again, perfect example: the "meteorite" mechanics in the new Galaxy City tutorial which you never see/encounter again until you hit level 46+ and run an introductory Incarnate trial like Apex or Tin Man (which suggests these initial Incarnate trials are really the tutorial level for Incarnates). Why would anyone be upset that folks aren't re-learning the game at level 50 when they're encountering game mechanics they've never experienced before (aside from that rare glimpse in the Galaxy City tutorial)?

Hell the lvl 1 -50 game practically CONDITIONS folks to constantly rove blindly through the content in packs of 8 or less and feel personally involved with saving/vandalizing the city, but then you hit lvl 50+ where suddenly anyone participating in an Incarnate trial has no choice but to keep their head down, obey instructions, and follow the leader around a giant city map just to take down an AV on a ******* tennis court ---and you think that's MORE fun?!

The game designers can't have it both ways -either you encourage players to be more individually involved/active in community-friendly content or you don't. And because the Incarnate trials DON'T encourage individual participation as you so astutely point out -a level of participation that's been set up and ingrained in the average player's mind for 50 levels prior -folks are begging for solo Incarnate content to make them feel heroic again. And I guarantee you that when Issue 22 starts rolling out solo Incarnate content, you will see most (if not all) of the player base avoid the current Incarnate trials like the plague.

Bottom line: for some players, it's more fun to roll a new toon than it is to take their established lvl 50 toon and run it through an 50+ only Incarnate trial where people yell at you for not being high enough level to participate, not knowing their support function in the course of the lone wolf leaders steamrolling the content, and for not following orders when given. Only don't hate the game for steering the player wrong, hate the player for not recognizing that the game itself has changed...

Whatever.

Right, and BAF is the most popular Incarnate trial the devs nerfed to encourage players to try the other trials... And look, how well that worked! Never mind that the lone wolf players are pulling the AVs to one spot because its more convenient for them (and on a tennis court of all things! How bloody anticlimactic for the site of a final battle). And then we are back to Ye Olde Follow the Leader Taking Down Hami dilemma we experienced years ago - and that got nerfed too...

Come on and wise up. There is a group of select players that LOVE being the rare few able to maneuver through these overcomplicated game mechanics and dont care how many lesser players follow in their wake taking out the scraps and leftovers. That isnt fun gameplay everyone can enjoy; its LAME...

Much as I love a good challenge, I also love community gameplay. Chasing after the few lone wolves leading the charge in these Incarnate trials is not worthy of lvl 50+ content. Sorry.