Steampunkette
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Posts
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Okay... First things first.
The Nazi party existed -before- Adolf Schicklgruber joined it, in a specific form: The DAP or German Worker's Party. Shicklgruber was the 55th member of the group after being directed to infiltrate the group as a member of the Aufklärungskommando (Intelligence Officers/Spies). A short time after the founding of the occult "Thule Society" the German Worker's Party became the Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or National Socialist German Worker's Party. So yeah. The Nazis existed -before- Hitler ever joined, just in a slightly less militaristic manner.
Secondly: Did this thread die in the first post? Godwin's Law is a tricky beast...
Fact is the Marcus Cole from the other reality was either a Nazi Sympathizer or a Mercenary working for the Axis. Neither of these things make the man -evil-. Though in the grand scheme of history they make him not only the enemy of democracy and freedom, but also the grandest kicker of puppies in the CoH universe.
-Rachel- -
Quote:Exactly! Too much work to put into the game, especially with a cheaper, easier to handle alternative.Originally Posted by DLancer
Don't we already have a mission architect for this sort of thing already?
-Rachel- -
It shocks me that this would be your complaint...
As opposed to the carefully cloned robots or users of magic items. How about the Ensorcelled villains of the Isles who's only power lies in magical effects placed on them? Or guys and gals wearing powersuits. "Cloning" just doesn't work for these characters.
Sometimes you just have to accept the limitations of the medium and move on. Gloss over the gold text, or the fact that Overkillbot9000 is being cloned in vats rather than produced on assembly lines.
-Rachel- -
Exactly, Diggis. The idea itself is ... Fantastic. It's expansive and beautiful and could lead to great storytelling.
Heck! You could create a few hundred more permutations by having "Team Up" arcs in which supergroups can select which of their nemeses (collectively) will work together for a story arc from a Mission computer, and then launch into a whole new experience as your personal villain joins up with the personal villain of another SG mate to wreak chaos and havoc.
They could even expand it -further- by having "Personal Villain" tagging in the madlibs that form our Newspaper and Radio missions. Every once in a while your personal nemesis could show up with an origin-specific group as the boss at the end of a randomized mission.
But. All of this is based on the initial customization, which would be far too much work for a "Random" named boss you fight once in a while. They'd need storyarcs involving the enemy in order to justify their use. Enter the 450 "Baseline" arcs ranging from 1-10 missions each (depending on plot) and you wind up with a massive undertaking which would add hugely to the overall content total for the game, increase replay value dramatically, and take away every content generating developer for months if not years at a time.
The only plausible solution to create these storyarcs in a way which allows the Developers the chance to create other content at the same time would be to enlist the help of the playerbase, volunteer writers, and so forth. But that is a massive legal undertaking in and of itself.
And overall it's probably just not worth it. Especially since some players (like Techbot Alpha) wouldn't want to use such a massive and involved system.
-Rachel- -
Okay. This is actually a suggestion we see fairly regularly in the S&I forums... I'd actually like to go over why it hasn't and probably won't be done. Or at least probably won't be done WELL.
To allow players to create an interesting personal nemesis who is interesting and maintains continuity of character between story arcs we'd need some baseline customization of origin, appearance, goals, intelligence, and personality.
Customization of appearance is, really, unimportant to the "Story" of the villain. So putting that entirely in the player's hands with a "Nemesis Character Generator" seems like no big deal. Basically it involves copy-pasting the character generation method to a different, specific, output. No biggie.
However the other four pose the greatest issue.
Let's start with Origin. Origin, in the best system available, would dictate what enemy groups and maps are used in any given arc. If your Nemesis is a Magic character he or she would likely work with or against the CoT, Tsoo, Banished Pantheon, etc for his or her different arcs. And would interact far less with non-magical groups. Similarly a Natural hero might work with the Warriors or something. So that's 5 options which alter storyline fairly heavily.
Goal. Different nemeses have different goals. Not all villains want to rule the world. Some just want to steal things, others want to destroy the world. Let's just stick with those three options: Conquer, Destroy, Steal. Well now we need a "Path" for each origin. So that's 3 more options which alter storyline very heavily. And require 15 arcs to cover each version.
Intelligence. Not all world conquering villains are brilliant masterminds. Some are average men with amazing charisma to lead armies. And still others want to rule through brute strength instead of rationale. So three levels of the Nemesis's intelligence would be needed to show differing levels of sophistication. Slow-Witted, Brilliant, and Average. Three more options to heavily influence arcs. We're up to 45, now.
Personality. This one is the easiest to "Customize" for each particular mission and creates the least amount of alteration to the plot itself, after Appearance. Personality represents the way the character interacts with the player character one being sighted or captured. It changes only the NPC's text, rather than the plot of the arc. Let's go for 6 different personalities. Flirtatious, Brutish, Self-Righteous, Effete, Detached, and Magnificent *******. That's 6 more options.
So we wind up with a list of 45 arcs. That's -enormous-. For storage purposes it becomes 270 missions. Most of which are only -slightly- different.
Natural > Brilliant > Effete > Thief
Natural > Brilliant > Flirtatious >Thief
The only difference between these two arcs would be in the text on meeting the NPC. But unless such text could be cataloged in a procedural list (feasible) they'd take up the same amount of space.
So either 45 arcs with a procedural cataloging indexed by NPC designation or 270 individual arcs. And that's for -one- level range and only heroside. Meanwhile you've got to mirror it and expand it to multiple level ranges.
So let's go for 10-20, 20-25, 25-30, 30-40, 40-45, and 45-50 with the possibility of a level 50 "Capstone" arc. That's another 5 arcs required. 225 arcs -with- the procedural cataloged text, 1350 without it. And that's still -just- heroside! Villainside you'd likely have the Crusader, the Avenger, and the Protector as goals and the arc motivations would be of the character's design, I imagine, with the Hero rushing in to stop them. Think of the villainside dark mirror arcs for an idea of what it would be like.
450 arcs in order to give both sides the full experience of having a single foe chasing them throughout their career. 2700 without the procedural catalog tech. A personalized entity with motivations, intelligence, personality, and appearance picked by the player.
That's not to say it -isn't- worth the effort to put it into the game. But this change is just -so- massive that it would need it's own expansion.
So while I would -LOVE- to see a Nemesis system implemented, I realize how time-consuming cost-ineffective it would be. The greatest benefit of the Nemesis system, outlined herein, would be the "New" feeling of running multiple heroes and villains from 1-50 to see all the new content you can. It would take at least 90 to see all the mission arcs -without- seeing all of the "Personality" texts.
-Rachel- -
Quote:The problem there is scale.Originally Posted by Mad_Cow_Milk
Hmm. maybe add a game option where you can create your own personal Nemesis (literal nemesis, not the villain group), and have a missions based of of what origin you chose featuring that villain? That I think might be rather interesting.
Either all the missions involving your nemesis are identical to every nemesis of the same origin, or there's FAR too much work to be done.
How about your nemesis's motivation? SOME villains want to take over the world, others are just thieves. Some are only interested in murder. Do we make all Natural foes thieves, Magic foes World Destroyers, Scientists World Conquerors, Techs into Mass-murderers?
So you'd need different story arcs based not only on the Nemesis' origin, but also based on motivation.
And let's not forget -intelligence-. Some killers are savage brutes while others are effete Jack the ripper types masquerading as decent people. So that's another sticky wicket.
There's too many variables required for this to be implemented without an entire issue (or expansion) dedicated to it. Otherwise it wouldn't be fulfilling at all. It would be a shallow attempt, and nothing more.
-Rachel- -
Quote:Or you could just create an MA arc, dress it up like Oroboros, and send players viscerally into your character's past to see what happened, firsthand, without a ton of Developer time spent to do basically the same thing with an added in-game gimmick to make people do it for the sweet prize rather than the character development...Originally Posted by Shadowclone
I like the idea. People have said one of the best parts of this game was the costume creator, which gives your character individuality. It would be cool to see an ingame way to expand on your characters background. They could ask a question and then have a section for people to explain why the chose that option. This would allow for your characters background to have more effect in game without stepping on roleplayers toes.
But you know. Whatever works!
-Rachel- -
Steam. Punk.
/thread
-Rachel- -
Quote:But there is no melee debuff archetype for your powerset to go to.Originally Posted by COV4LIFE
thanks for the your comment I see martial arts with a lot of internal application as well not like fleet whisper who wants it all western. thats why I say make another powerset and make it a debuffing melee set and call it kung fu
The most perfect possible application of a "Kung Fu" powerset would basically -be- the Martial Arts powerset, but with an incredible library of different animations for all the powers and a single "Stance" power with multiple animations that the player could cycle back to.
However you would lose -years- of potential new powersets as the Animators painstakingly recreated hundreds of different fighting styles and took 7 powers out of each one (not including Build Up or Taunt) to which they applied to current damage/accuracy/disorient/knockback/debuffs in the powers they already have.
So, sadly, I'm gonna have to request that the devs Not follow through on this suggestion. It's too much effort for far too little net gain.
-Rachel- -
Quote:All of what Forbin just put in.Originally Posted by Fleeting Whisper
-Text snipped for space-
Add to that: The Devs went for a "Generic" punching and kicking set. Why? So that multiple concepts work for it. IF they used a distinct and real-world martial art for the powerset then they'd have to make individual power sets based on each style in order to appease everyone. And the only people they'd wind up appeasing are those who prefer Chinese/Japanese inspired martial arts. You still have Capoeira, Krav Maga, Beni Hasan, Greco roman wrestling (actually -any- grappling is impossible in this engine...), Sambo, and Military Martial arts.
Instead they went for generic martial arts like you might see in a Batman comic before the most recent explosion of kung fu movies, notably Wire-fighting. Though I'll admit the Eagle's Claw is incredibly "Wire Fighty" you might see a Crane Kick (as in the game) or Axe kick fired off by a mixed martial arts user. Especially when combined with the "Haymaker" and "Gut Punch" animation replacements.
-Rachel- -
One of the most common types of Suggestion or Idea is Powerset concepts.
With that stated. I'd like to suggest a Suggestion and Ideas Subforum in the form of Suggested Powersets. This forum would be editable by Developers Only.
Players who suggest powersets in Suggestions and Ideas are allowed to place a "Poll" on their suggestion, or allowed to ask the Admins/Mods for said poll to be attached after a certain point. This poll would be very simple. Yes or No. Anyone putting such a powerset suggestion on the forum would need to add, in red, a binding agreement that they expect no compensation for their idea, and forfeiting all rights to said idea.
Players in the Suggestions and Ideas forums can discuss and vote on the powerset. One vote per account. If the Powerset Suggestion reaches a certain threshold of positive over negative (25% over, or a direct number, like 50 positive over the negative total) after a certain point (one week from polling start) the powerset suggestion thread is shifted to the subforum for direct developer attention.
This would be a definite way of giving the Devs what sets we, as players, would love to see added to the game. There'd be no requirement for them to use the sets as-is and they could re-envision the sets as they saw fit, or not use them ever. But it would be a way of separating what the players -want- as compared to leaving the Devs to sort through all the repeats and necrothreads.
-Rachel- -
Since this thread is actually getting linked to in a few other threads I'd like to suggest a "Sticky Status" or that it be moved whole-hog into a new "POwerset Suggestion" sub-forum for the Devs to tinker with.
Maybe make a voting or polling thing... grr... now it's another suggestion. BRB!
-Rachel- -
Quote:The topic at hand was a Melee/Ranged and Control/Defense AT. Bringing up Empathy just came out of left field, that's all.Originally Posted by Leo_G
I was talking about any powersets, not just control, defense or buff. The only thematic paring, IMO, that requires no explaining, no customization of colors, etc for Regeneration is Empathy. Both tend to boil down to healing on a molecular level or something.
The fact that controls fail is the only thing which makes defenses on this AT viable. I'm giving the AT scrapper defensive numbers, but only the "Core" powers of the set which lowers it's overall survivability, greatly. It's only while a foe is held or otherwise controlled that it's a win for the Marauder/Leader. The fact that controls can, and will miss, is what balances the AT for it's ranged capabilities. Especially considering the values I'm giving it.Quote:Originally Posted by Leo_G
Not to say the Marauder AT isn't good but controls can fail and there's a point where more control doesn't help as much...that said, Doms come close to this. With IOs and power selections, they can be pretty tough (i.e. doesn't shatter at a light breeze) while still bringing the damage and controls.
Actually I find it thematically inappropriate for a superhero game on multiple levels. Firstly! Name the number of animal superheroes across all comics. Compare and Contrast to the number of Human and Humanoid superheros across all comics. The number of four legged heroes is minuscule. So small, in fact, that it would be irresponsible to spend time on animating every attack in the game, all the movement modes, and transferring even a third of the costume options over to the animal model. Putting Dual Blades in a dog's mouth does not a hero make. The second part of this point is located in the last paragraph.Quote:Originally Posted by Leo_G
1. Animal bodies - well you walked into that suggestion not caring about it anyway. It's a given you wouldn't care for anything not the same as your opinion.
Without external input from multiple sources I've found that "Bumping" a thread or bringing it up only yields in frustration on all parts. There wasn't enough interest in it to warrant further discussion.Quote:Originally Posted by Leo_G
2. Rainbow blast - any talk is better than nothing. really, I didn't care for my idea either but I do like discussing them. but you let it die...
It was an example of one of the times where I agreed with you, as a contrast to some of the others. Please read the note I put under the link.Quote:Originally Posted by Leo_G
3. 'Armor' armor - dunno why you'd refer to that. I was simply acknowledging others arguments on the subject. So not sure how that lacks thematic focus or in-character interaction...
Just something we will forever disagree on.Quote:Originally Posted by Leo_G
4. Phase armor - ah forgot about that. but I'm not sure we ever got past the 'phase = godmode' argument. IMO, yes, it's 'effective' but it's not end-all-be-all. And armor sets are built to be 'effective' so...
Agreed. And had I not been busy I'd have leapt all over this one with joy and glee. but as I said, RL issues. Another point to compare which shows I don't have a problem with you, in particular.Quote:Originally Posted by Leo_G
5. Phantom Aura - see, that set of mine is a good example of what I'd like all suggestion sets to be. OP has a specific theme in mind, forms a suggestion and everyone comes in and posts their opinion and shapes it into something that isn't crap. I'm not afraid to admit what I 1st suggested there was bad but the result was not-as-bad...
Difference of opinion. *shrugs* No other set has the same numbers or design. Plus the quick branch melee thing was nice, I thought!Quote:Originally Posted by Leo_G
6. Plant Armor - still don't think that set really stands out. A mez toggle isn't unique either.
In character interaction refers to the roleplaying or story aspects of the game. This is where Facepalm Defense comes into play or the animal form discussion. From an in-character standpoint the ridiculous nature of these suggestions brings to question the seriousness of all other plot elements. A Dog with a broadsword in it's mouth or a cannon strapped to it's back can defeat Lord Nemesis. So why did the US military fail so spectacularly on Brass Monday? "It's a super dog!" Not if it's got the "Natural" Origin.Quote:Originally Posted by Leo_G
In conclusion...meh, I thought you were talking about my 'Suggestions'. That said, I'm still not sure what 'in-character interaction' means in the context of what you said...but I try to keep my 'ideas' as unique as possible. If it's not something impossible with what we have, I don't even bother posting it...
-Rachel- -
Quote:Actually... After looking over the scrapper's AT multipliers this wouldn't be that bad an idea... Frustrating, for all the members of the AT throwing off 1/2 damage for every ranged attack, but they'd make up for the increased survivability of range with the lower damage values.Originally Posted by Judas_Ace
Actually they should just give the assault sets to scrappers.
...
...
...
What?
However it would probably suck enough that people wouldn't want to play it, most times. And so!
-Rachel- -
As to your resentment...
http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showp...4&postcount=17
Animals carrying swords in their mouths...
http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showp...9&postcount=25
Completely changed the -feel- of the set (throwing all of the rainbow in every power) and altered the theme to a Light Blast set with each wavelength represented.
http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showthread.php?t=219805
Thread where I not only agreed with your concept I rewrote the initial powerset suggestion using your argument as the entire basis with a few additions.
http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showthread.php?t=218674
Difference of opinion on the utility of a Toggle versus a Click power.
http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showthread.php?t=196164
Here's a set I would have been screaming /SIGNED to if I hadn't been spending so much time trying to take care of Mom after her surgery. She's back in the hospital, for those interested.
http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showp...9&postcount=24
How does The following equate to a powerset already in the game?
Smashing: 40% Resistance
Lethal: 40% Resistance
Fire: 25% Resistance
Cold: 30% Resistance
Energy: 30% Resistance
Negative Energy: 30% Resistance
Toxic: 50% Resistance
Psionic: 15% Resistance, 10% Defense
Stun: Standard Toggle +mag 2
Sleep: Standard Toggle
Hold: Standard Toggle
Immobilize:
Fear:
KB: Standard Toggle
Confuse: Mag 10
+100% Regen
+15% HP
Self Heal
PBAoE Damage+Slow Aura -Regen for enemies
PBAoE Fear toggle with chance to confuse
Tier Nine keeps you on the ground and increases your resistances and defenses to almost Granite Armor levels.
You feel like I resent you because we've already argued over lots of concepts, disagreed many times, and rarely seen eye-to-eye on things. I didn't say your Suggestions. I said your ideas sometimes lack thematic focus or in-character relation. I was including various posts and suggestions of alterations to sets, not -just- the ideas you, yourself, designed from the ground up.
-Rachel- -
Quote:You're right. And I was wrong. I should've checked Paragonwiki for that. Coulda sworn....Originally Posted by Leo_G
Actually, the Consigliere weren't Inv/Grav. In fact, no one in the Family uses Invulnerability, they use Super Reflexes and at that, SR/Grav/Super Strength is their bag.
Actually It has PFF, Temp Invuln, repulsion bomb, repulsion field, and Force of Nature, a clone of Unstoppable complete with the Unstoppa-crash.Quote:Originally Posted by Leo_G
Besides that, I don't think Invulnerability, in particular, is Force. Sure, there's Force Mastery but if I recall, it only has the 1 shield (Temp Invul) and the rest are really force powers.
Not quite fair since you're adding powers with Redraw and a physical model as compared to two sets which wouldn't cause redraw of each other, share (to some degree) a thematic attachment, and the same basic color.Quote:Originally Posted by Leo_G
The difference is, Shield Defense's Grant Cover is a part of the set. Snipes are apart of those sets, etc. The proposed idea is a combo of 2 different sets. IMO, it'd be akin to making a Dual Pistols and Dark melee combo for Dark Assault and if they don't fit your concept you can just take what does.
Regen also works for the Nature Alteration set since you can cut back a tree or a bush or pull up a weed and it will grow back unless you just -kill- it outright. The only "Perfect" match for Plant control would be...
What? No! Not Empathy. Plant Armor, which was a great powerset suggestion. Where the heck did you get Empathy for a Control/Defense set?!Quote:Originally Posted by Leo_G
On the other hand, Regeneration is purely healing damage. The only logical paring that has no thematic discrepancies is Empathy. Because you can heal and buff yourself's regen and pass the same ability to an ally.
Oh. That's. Yeah. That's an utterly different suggested AT. This thread isn't designed for that... Though, in response to what you've put up? Electric Melee/Storm, SR/Gadgets, Energy Melee/Force Fields. Or are you referring to a Melee/Def/Buff AT? The biggest problem for a melee/def/buff AT is that it would have to supply itself with armor, as much as anyone else. Try making a scrapper and picking only 4 powers out of your secondary, then see how long you'll last at level 30+.Quote:Originally Posted by Leo_G
But of course, this is all my opinion. Making a melee/(de)buff AT would have a similar issue. What support powers would one pair with Invulnerability or Super Reflexes (maybe gadgets) or what armor set would one pair with Storm Summoning?
Control effects, on the other hand, are a form of active defense. Taking a target out of the fight while you handle his friends is effectively negating all of his damage output. It takes end to keep locking him down, but other than that...
-Rachel- -
I'm all for it, so long as the objects are as billed: Decorative objects that serve no real function. And extra 100-1,000 prestige item that can be put in any room.
How about we up the scale a little bit further while we're at it? Multiple versions, including a "Table" with a map of the Rogue Isles or Paragon City on it, depending on which item you place. I'd love for my control room to have a "Sector Map" of each zone as if we're planning various assaults or monitoring information. So let's go for wall-mounted Zone maps with the individual neighborhoods marked.
Wouldn't all of these things be awesome for Base Designers?
-Rachel- -
Quote:I honestly have -no- problem with you, personally, whatsoever. your ideas sometimes seem conceptually off, or they don't work within the framework of in-character interaction.Originally Posted by Leo_G
I'd like to comment on this, but I don't know if you've got some Grudge against me, Spunkette. You always seem rather...vocal about your stance when I'm in the picture...don't know why. I can argue with someone like Samuel_Tow and still not be on his bad side...
Anyway, the idea is intriguing but I have conceptual issues with the pairings. For sets like Ice Alteration, Electric Alteration, Fire Alteration and even Energy Alteration, there's not much problem. But stuff like Nature Alteration, Gravitic Alteration, it creates pairings that reach a bit further than necessary.
If a character wants to use this AT for a plant themed character, Regeneration may not 'fit' or alternatively, if they wanted a regen themed character, plant may not fit. And what about things like Super Reflexes or Shield Defense?
Personally, for this AT, I'd look into maybe a defense/buff type combo for the secondary but even there, the concepts begin to reach. Perhaps just pure defense secondary with a combo of range (or melee) and control for the primary? Anyway, that's my overall opinion. But then I've heard more pleas for a melee/buff combo so looking at it from that angle.
As for why I chose Regen for plants and Gravity/Invuln or Gravity/Energy Aura...
I was trying to come up with 1 set to match each of the assault sets currently available to dominators (Earth, Electric, Ice, Fire, Energy, Psionic, thorns) and by match I mean thematically. Fire for fire, Earth for Earth, etc. So I went to the control sets and paired up all I could. I was left with Thorns/Plant/Something and Gravity/Energy/Something, since we don't have Energy Control the logical comparison was gravity, since both involve using a force rather than a substance.
Now with the Control sets in mind I looked into the Defensive pairings. For Gravity it was fairly easy: Consigliere. Some of the Family and Mook bosses are Invuln/Grav enemies. It also makes sense, thematically, that a person manipulating Force would take less damage from physical attacks their could effect, while not taking much less damage from Energy effects.
As for the Plant/Regen I looked to the idea of New Growth and Regrowth. Add that to the Tree of Life power from straight Plant Control... Well it seemed to fit.
As for what to do about people who don't want to have specific powers in a set... There's nothing you can do. but the same can be said for -every- powerset. I don't, generally, use Grant Cover from Shield Defense. I don't like Snipe attacks of any kind, really. I think Repel is just about useless in most cases... but they're still there. I guess the answer is: If you want to make a plant controller who flings thorns but doesn't have Regeneration: Make a Plant Dominator.
As for the Inherent: I'm not married to it, at all. But do you think the other half of it, a big self damage boost (possibly bigger than it is now) would make it worthwhile? The idea was that the Marauder was more careful alone, expending less energy, almost stalking it's prey. But when the Marauder has support it unleashes it's fury on it's foes.
-Rachel- -
Wow. Yes. Well. I can see how that Holding method could keep 4 minions or lieutenants in check, permanently... However I also see it takes 18 seconds (minimum) to lock all four down... During which you're taking damage from 3, then 2, then 1. And this, combined with lower defenses and scrapper hit points, could be all it takes to deal some irreparable damage...
Add in the case of a single miss, early on, you wind up waiting an extra 4 seconds to get the fourth (or fifth). So it -would- be difficult up to SO level to hang through fights, right? And even -at- SO level, Bosses could still be a problem, for the 1-2 hits they land before the second hold stacks. And even then the LTs and Minions are still wailing on your lower than scrapper defenses...
Could the duration of the hold be shortened so it's only possible to hold 2-3 enemies for any length of time?
-Rachel- -
Mmmmmmmmmaybe... But I think the big focus is on the sound effects of your characters powers.
Just recently I purchased 2.1 channel speakers (left, right, and subwoofer) and the difference is -remarkable- to be perfectly honest.
The bass "BOOM!" from a Superstrength KO Blow is intense. And it would likely easily overshadow any in-game music they added quickly...
-Rachel- -
Quote:Doesn't each NPC past the first kill 10% XP? If he's got 1-3 "Rescues" or 1-3 Allies that's still good (80%) XP and your argument is nearly invalidated. If your friend has 6 rescues and 4 allies (10% total XP) that's... just a bit overkill on his part, really. And he might consider moving some of those 6 rescued characters to other missions, or into clickable objects, where the NPC is hiding or dead in a body bag.Originally Posted by ChaosExMachina
By people running their story, I meant that if your arc has, say, 10% exp while being more difficult than most tasks, it will be hard to get players, and you may get downvoted hard if anybody does come, leading your arc to become effectively unfindable by those who simply browse high rated arcs. One person whose arc I helped to provide feedback for, and put a ton of effort into it, is in that situation.
You have a point about the majority, but Forbin accused a person who explicitly talked about normal escorts of complaining about exploit fixes.
-Rachel- -
Okay. Let me go through this the easy way.
Level-range limits on enemies with specific traits: NO. Not all of my characters are meant to be global threat resolving heroes. Sometimes I don't want to play Superman. Sometimes I want to play Spiderman. Spiderman has been around for decades and spent most of it fighting goons with guns and a handful of powered villains. Same goes for Batman and other heroes. By limiting "Street" heroes to level 20 you shorten the game life for them incredibly.
Zone Event restructuring: Zone Events (Zombies, Rikti, Supernatural events) Despawn other enemies. By putting control of their spawning into the hands of players through zone-missions and applying the event to multiple or ALL zones you kill every "Hunt" mission currently in progress. Even TF hunt missions. Some players leave zones to avoid the lag-fests that zone events cause. Making them spawn in all zones would leave them nowhere to flee, save maybe the Pocket D or something similar. Don't turn my Heroine into a Bomb Shelter bunker buddy.
Power/AT Restructuring: The game was originally slated to launch with players choosing any powers they liked. This lead to "Fail" characters and "Uber" characters. Fail characters could not win a fist fight with a hellion at level 20. Ubers could punch Statesman out by level 30. Yes this is exaggeration, but it gets the point across.
Players with multiple Limbs/Animal PCs: Both options would require completely new models and animations built from the ground up. Then they would require completely new skins of every costume piece and option currently available. The work required to do this is phenomenal. The payoff: Not so much.
Aerial Battles are limited by both NPC AI and player willingness to plummet from the sky as end-costs drain them. NPC AI is finicky to deal with, and currently makes enemies close for melee attacks, so a person on the ground can aggro a flying target and fight them without flying. Aerial battles also cause some characters to be incapable of using some powers (Superstrength, Earth Control, Fire Control, and Stone Armor leap to mind)
Removing endurance and replacing it with "Building" powers: This would basically require players to spam the same attack 4-5 times before pulling out a bigger and more interesting power. While you may enjoy this, I like opening combat with a Shield Charge or Foot Stomp. Besides, if we give everyone Fury; What do Brutes get? And you do realize that brutes have the lowest melee damage AT multiplier based on their ability to generate fury. Would we lower ALL player damages in order to allow "Fury"?
No recharge on some attacks: This ties into the "Spam your Tier 1 until you can fire off your tier 3" argument. It's not a playstyle everyone wants. Considering it's the playstyle of Champions Online and we're still playing City of Heroes I'd say it's a playstyle a Majority does not want.
Ability to customize pets: Labor Intensive, Memory Intensive, Little potential pay off. They might look into it at some point.
Animal Summoning: See Animal Skeleton comments.
Instance Potential wasted: Each instance in World of Warcraft or Champions Online is individually hand crafted and takes FOREVER to design, map out, build, playtest, and repeat. This is why CoH has procedural missions with randomized maps. While I wouldn't mind seeing some advanced, hand-crafted maps/events/missions I would prefer simply adding more variety to the procedural maps (new tilesets, new options, potentially maps wihch support multiple goals simultaneously without spawning issues). That said more Unique maps are nice to have.
AVs Are bags of hit points: I don't know about you, but I despise the ITF. Going through every challenge, having a blast even in lag valley, beating down entire armies worth of Cimerorans, and then being stymied by a single opponent because an integral teammate dropped or had to leave for an emergency is not my idea of "Fun". I happen to hate Gimick fights where you have to complete some sideways series of requirements in order to defeat a specific opponent. This is not the Legend of Zelda, where all bosses require you to hit a weak spot. This is City of Heroes where a character may not be able to REACH a weak spot artificially tacked onto a specialized enemy.
Fully customizable signature powers: Plausible, not probable. We've got power customization with the potential of having multiple animations/particle effects/etc in the future. Isn't that good enough?
Travel Powers at level 1 and Travel power attacks: Kheldians and Warshades, Air Superiority, Jump Kick, and Flurry. The reason players don't, generally, have travel powers at level 1 is, most likely, time inflation. An MMO requires (to be successful) roughly 400 hours of play time per player. Whether it is 100 hours of travel, 120 hours of hunting badges, 30 hours of roleplay, 50 hours of PVP, and 100 hours of fighting NPCs or some other combination. Travel eats up time. Time is spent over the course of a Month, multiple months mean multiple instances of payment means a greater profit for the work involved in creating the game. Time spent Traveling is a function of Money.
Power change suggestions: Incredibly difficult to balance, incredibly difficult to code, incredibly huge number of powers to apply the design to. Bear in mind how many powers and powersets this would apply to, and then apply it to every powerset that hasn't been created, yet.
Damage Scales based on total remaining endurance: BAD idea, since it means one fireball wipes out my whole end bar. Another problem with removing endurance: Toggles. How would armors work? For free? How fair is that?
In short... City of Heroes has lasted six years and change on the design and engine it's had. Asking for huge, sweeping changes without understanding the effort behind them and the ultimate effect on the game is folly. If you like Champions Online's method of handling powers (Everyone dishes out the same damage for the same attacks, repeat the same attack 4 times to do a new attack, woo!) then play Champions Online.
-Rachel- -
I'd like to address this...
Primary objective: destroy wards protecting the temple, defeat main villain
Secondary objectives: prevent summoning, destroy teleport hindering obelisks, help midnighters, perform ritual of destruction, destroy debuff altar
Primary Objectives: Break Object and Defeat Spawn, Defeat Boss
Secondary Objectives: Defeat Spawns performing rituals, Destroy Object and Defeat spawn, Rescue Ally, Click Object (Unique to origin), Destroy Object.
Most everything you put in the "Unique and new mission" is handled entirely through CoH's current engine design and consists of current goals. It's just a mish with a lot -more- of them all at once. Though making Magic Origin characters able to hit one altar (Ritual of Destruction) would require a -bit- more coding...
A lot of us tend to like the simple rush in, fight fight fight, finish the mish, leave style of gameplay because we wind up on budgeted time. Sometimes I've only got 20 minutes to play. Making missions with a half dozen "Sub Goals" just requires the player to run back and forth across the mission map (which would need to be fairly large) in order to complete the mission. And while that's -fine- for Task Forces and the occasional storyarc mission it would totally ruin this game for a lot of players (those with time constraints) if applied to -most- missions in the game.
All you're describing in this "Temple of Doom" mission is a Task Force or Objective Heavy mission. We already have some of those. Maybe you should play them, more often. Especially if they're going to be replaced (See Posi TF as potential starting point for Freedom Phalanx TF revamp)
-Rachel- -
Oh, I agree that some, even MANY might feel that way. But I despise being told how -I- feel about a certain situation.
-Rachel- -
I actually genuinely enjoy this idea. Sometimes I don't WANT to take pool powers or epic pools. I want my character to have only their primary and secondary powersets. This gives a nice alternative to picking pools and grants the bonus of being able to slot powers more fully. It could also put a slow down on some of the "Stamina is needed!" arguing, as players could just trade in their pools for end reduction.
-Rachel-