For other look/feel ideas, you could also have a Law Office (something more mid-range, compared to the CEO and PI) and a Doctor's Office (with medical posters, year-old magazines, and all that).
The reason I mention it is because in a comic I wrote a couple of years ago (it's never been drawn, let alone published) the main hero team had a large HQ with a spacious reception area; absent a crisis, the public could come in and tour selected parts of their crime lab, museum, and so forth. For myself, I kind of think of this as an Office style area, though others might have different ideas.
Also, one of the solo heroes in that group made his base out of an "outbuilding" behind his house -- basically a secondary house with a large garage. With that in mind, maybe Garage could be inserted into an Outbuilding category, along with Barn and Trailer House.
(Sorry to not wade through all 26 pages of this... I might just do that later, though, and second others' wonderful ideas.)
Wait, you mean Agency isn't on the list? What I've been thinking of is some kind of James Bond-ian or MIB-ish place where the player's character isn't the only one there and they aren't necessarily the head honcho. This may be more Supergroup Hideout material, however.
Not sure if these have been brought up yet, but I stumbled on a few that would be cool while doing my regular questing.
1) Dr. Ka's Brownstone - General style and shape of the building. Large, open, high. Balcony overlooking the first floor, a few nooks elsewhere to hang out.
2) Valerian Scarlet's Brownstone/Trey Kings Mansion - This is actually really nicely laid out, especially if the rest of the first floor behind those doors were fleshed out. Nice corridor layout, a library room with overlooking walkways. Make a nice run down/high class/etc. type of mansion.
3) Argent Hunting Lodge - Encountered when you go fight Steel Commando. It's an interesting blend of hunting lodge and Powerhouse style design. Has a back room with a large meeting table and screen. Could be a technological hunting lodge (like it is now) or a log-cabin inspired mountaintop lodge, replacing the meeting room with a rustic table and chairs and the screen with a window that fakes a Candian Wildnerness overlook.
All of these already exist in the game, so maybe they'll make a nice point of reference. :]
I'd like to suggest a Tower set with the following themes:
Gothic Belfry -- sure to be popular with all the vamp players
Steampunk Clocktower -- using the gearwheels found in the Inventions trainer
Wizard's Redoubt -- your typical wizardly tower with summoning circle, herbarium, and views onto some otherworldly dimension
Without a big gaping chasm / waterfall / hole in the ceiling.
I don't mind a few passages to other cave rooms or whatever, that could be kinda cool and would fit the theme.
However the current cave options are kind of disappointing. They don't really say 'cave' to me, its too fantastical. I don't really want a chasm, lava filled or not. I don't want a waterfall. I don't want to be suspended on a ledge high above a pit. I just want some kind of actual cave hangout.
[sorry, in my haste to post this as a thread I overlooked the sticky)
If it's not already been suggested... SEWERS!
Why? Well... Some people might feel nostalgic for the early missions of the game, where you're delving into the sewers... Also, it could fit many character concepts...
(it's nifty too, as it basically is a series of tubes, meaning it'd lend way to a digital wire world (with bonus humour due to the series of tubes bit you could put on the description whilst selling it!), within a glowing tube...)
Crime computer could be an underground telephone wire rerouted into a small alcove with a laptop in it...
Tailor could be a manhole...
Mountain Dojo: Has scenery of mountains and has thick mountain fog. There are stones to break, stone statues to practice on you can hit them to actually break them (interact) and they will be immediately replaced, Bruce Lee spinning wooden post that actually does spin when you "hit it" (interact) as an option and weights are made out of stone attached to steel rod,. An old well out at the front. And huge heavy stones for lifting - all scaled according to the lifting strength level (lightest to titanic) a way to test how heavy of objects you can lift. Ground is laid out with a straw mat.
City Dojo: Scenery of city outside. More likely on 2nd or higher story of a building it shares. Uses weights used in gyms. Has punching bags, sparring protective equipment hanging on the walls, pair of boxing gloves hanging on walls, has a small walk in closet sized shower room. Also has some heavy medicine balls that you can lift similar tot he rocks in the Mountain Dojo. Ground is laid out with the soft spongy material used in city gyms. Maybe a small sparring ring as well.
I just noticed yesterday that the selection of Caves does not include an ice cave. There are such nice ice caves in the Canadian Wilderness, and it seems like it would be such a perfect fit for Glaciers and other ice-themed characters (or anyone wanting to replicate Superman's Fortress of Solitude).
I just noticed yesterday that the selection of Caves does not include an ice cave. There are such nice ice caves in the Canadian Wilderness, and it seems like it would be such a perfect fit for Glaciers and other ice-themed characters (or anyone wanting to replicate Superman's Fortress of Solitude).
We do have Ice Caves, unless I'm misunderstanding your request. Go to the Cave hideout and change the Cave Venue to Ice Cave.
We seem to have several players who go with oriental looking characters, whether they're Japanese or Chinese, they're basically overseas and have the look of elegance about them. Since Westside has the Chinese District, and Downtown has the Japanese Gardens (the one with the Cherry Blossom Tree), here's the pitch...Oriental style hideouts.
Whether it's Japanese looking with sliding doors, wooden flooring, small gardens, the idea behind this hideout should be something that's peaceful and enchanting. Whether to invite comrades in arms to discuss your long day, or share warm cups of herbal tea or sake. Of course, there's still a section within the hideout dedicated to your hero, whether your home hides a tech oriented room, magical, or vice versa.
It bothers me a little that there are two Penthouses, but three of everything else.
So how about a Hi-Tech Penthouse? Import a bunch of the features and items in the Moonbases and the Tech Cave and Basement, and add whatever other stuff might be necessary.
Hi, I'd like to suggest a new type of hideout for martial-arts based players? A really cool, forested-mountainside monastary would be a great hideout, with a tatami-mat training floor, rice-paper walls and doors, maybe a carrier pidgeon for a crime computer for people to "Send you information" about worldly events, a small pond with waterfall to meditate near, other similar, eastern influences would be nice!
The tailor, there could be a room with gear, or a big statue with swords, and other weapons, racked up infront of it, useful for the tailor, or possibly the player bank
Hi, I'd like to suggest a new type of hideout for martial-arts based players? A really cool, forested-mountainside monastary would be a great hideout, with a tatami-mat training floor, rice-paper walls and doors, maybe a carrier pidgeon for a crime computer for people to "Send you information" about worldly events, a small pond with waterfall to meditate near, other similar, eastern influences would be nice!
The tailor, there could be a room with gear, or a big statue with swords, and other weapons, racked up infront of it, useful for the tailor, or possibly the player bank
I like the initial-release practice of starting with three versions of any given Hideout. So we can call this a Monastic Retreat, and then also have a Hunter's Retreat with log-cabin walls, animal-head trophies, rustic furniture, and similar stuff. Then we can have a Corporate Retreat, with a more modern/high-tech look.
The "Outside View" could be switchable among Desert View, Forested Mountains, Forested Valley, Rolling Hills, and Snowy Mountains.
I like the initial-release practice of starting with three versions of any given Hideout. So we can call this a Monastic Retreat, and then also have a Hunter's Retreat with log-cabin walls, animal-head trophies, rustic furniture, and similar stuff. Then we can have a Corporate Retreat, with a more modern/high-tech look.
The "Outside View" could be switchable among Desert View, Forested Mountains, Forested Valley, Rolling Hills, and Snowy Mountains.
Yeah, I kind of like this one.
The way they do hideouts, however, due to the semi-static nature of terrain modeling and whatnot, would require them to make these indoors, and the "changing view" would need to be window with a matte image, not a 3D feature.
The way they do hideouts, however, due to the semi-static nature of terrain modeling and whatnot, would require them to make these indoors, and the "changing view" would need to be window with a matte image, not a 3D feature.
The way they do hideouts, however, due to the semi-static nature of terrain modeling and whatnot, would require them to make these indoors, and the "changing view" would need to be window with a matte image, not a 3D feature.
uhmm.... no it doesn't, the terrain can be changed just like any other environmental stuff in the game.
when you assign a texture pack to a feature you can just switch from snowy mounain to the middle of a dessert.
......i just hope tumerboy here knows what i am talking about.
maybe a carrier pidgeon for a crime computer for people to "Send you information" about worldly events,
I'm all for different objects being flagged as our usual hideout features. I remember on suggesting the tombs/crypt hideout of a crow or raven being used the same way. Way better than a laptop on a desk!, and compliant with the theme!.
uhmm.... no it doesn't, the terrain can be changed just like any other environmental stuff in the game.
when you assign a texture pack to a feature you can just switch from snowy mounain to the middle of a dessert.
......i just hope tumerboy here knows what i am talking about.
Hey, that's the excuse he gave for why they couldn't turn the moonbase into an underwater dome by switching terrain from "space" to "ocean".
3) Argent Hunting Lodge - Encountered when you go fight Steel Commando. It's an interesting blend of hunting lodge and Powerhouse style design. Has a back room with a large meeting table and screen. Could be a technological hunting lodge (like it is now) or a log-cabin inspired mountaintop lodge, replacing the meeting room with a rustic table and chairs and the screen with a window that fakes a Candian Wildnerness overlook. :]
I really have to second this. The Argent hunting lodge is off the hook excellent inside. I often wished I could loot the decor after taking out all the resisting opposition.
Hey, now there is another idea. How about creating furniture, statuary, plants, and decor and whatnot that can be taken as trophies to place in ones own abode.
I really have to second this. The Argent hunting lodge is off the hook excellent inside. I often wished I could loot the decor after taking out all the resisting opposition.
Hey, now there is another idea. How about creating furniture, statuary, plants, and decor and whatnot that can be taken as trophies to place in ones own abode.
This does remind me... we really could use a Penthouse with the decor found inside some of the classier Vibora Bay locales.
With the new Archetype Rotation and the free Character slot, I've created a Mystic character. It'd be great for him to have a Sanctum, but none of the existing ones seem right for his modern sensibilities and style.
My suggestion: Modern Sanctum, for the mage who likes to stay current. It includes a state of the art computer, contemporary furnishings and decor, a TV viewing area, and other 21st-century stylings. This could all be done without losing the mystical flavor; for example, the computer could have an "astrological symbols" screen saver, the TV remote could float over the couch, the "holographic angel" from the Tech Basement could be brought in (and possibly enlarged), and so forth.
Gothic Manor house
Antique/Oddity store
magic/occult store
I'll second all of these (not sure about the other two). The Gothic manor can be done with a Sanctum (especially if the Modern Sanctum I just suggested is included), but it would also be an interesting twist for the Penthouse.
I don't know if these have been suggested before, but I'm not fishin' through twenty-nine pages of posts.
Basically, I want:
-A treasure room
-A castle, with a treasure room
-A dragon's lair, with a pile of gold
-A dragon's lair castle built into a mountain made of a gigantic pile of gold
A "tiny" hideout would also be cute. Like, a literally tiny hideout, as if your character had shrunk down to enter it. It could be on a bookshelf or in a shoebox or something. Or a mouse hole. One of those stylized modern mouse holes like you always see Jerry of Tom and Jerry fame hanging out in. You know, like he has a chair made out of a thimble and a button and a bed in a matchbox, yet also a working TV somehow.
I want a pole!
What?
No, not THAT kind of pole, you silly Club Caprician rejects...
I mean a fireman's pole! We're heroes, right? So maybe we could have (especially as there might eventually be a water powerset...) a firehouse! You know, the places where firemen are based. I think they're called firehouses, they seldom ever come up in conversation.
Bonus points too as it gives the guys who write the descriptions in the C-Store to subtly make a reference to Ghostbusters by having a Condemmed Firehouse hideout.
"I think this building should be condemned. There's serious metal fatigue in all the load-bearing members, the wiring is substandard, it's completely inadequate for our power needs, and the neighborhood is like a demilitarized zone."
Yeah. this would be very subtle. Subtle like Captain Cosmic entering a little girl's bedroom for a tea party.
A fireman's pole would also be good homage in the Batman TV series. It could replace the elevator in the Cave, and the stairs in the Basement.
The latter is what I thought of specifically: there was a request to customize the Basement stairs, and that might just be the ticket. Leave the existing wooden stairs for Mom's (perhaps adding carpeting in a second option), various metal stairs for Tech, and put the fireman's pole in Vigilante... though that might require a couple of new animations (very cool in theory but probably more work than it's worth) or moving the actual entry/exit spot.
But yes, I think a firehouse (yes, that's the correct term, though I usually hear "fire station") would be a great Hideout idea. Not only would it work great for water-based characters, but fire-based ones, and I think gadgeteers and other types would appreciate it as well.
I have a question about the outside enviroments concept;
You've said that exterior geometry cannot be changed, but in the context of a small area before entering a hideout (think rock-cave / Ice-cave / dagobah-like swamp hut exterior) would it not be possible to designate that area another room?, a pre-cursor and foyer if you like, (for example) walking along a short bridge over a dried-up riverbed / ice-lake / swamp and entering through the front door ( thus zoning to the interior).
I'm trying to think of a way of making a small outside enviroment have similar features placement and architecture yet be customisable into completely different looking scenes. I'm trying to think how exteriors could have swappable outside features in an outside-hideout catagory.
Eg:
Desert: 4x4 buggy, dried lake bed exterior, boulders, basalt stone columns architecture, stone door.
Antarctic: Helicopter, Hollowed out iceberg, small icebergs in water, Ice columns architecture, Ice door.
Swamp, Swamp boat, swampy marsh, logs and flora, tree-stump columns architecture, wooden door.
Geometry is what the vast majority of the game is made out of, and is something we can swap using the hideout tech. Geometry makes up the floor, walls, ceiling, props, etc. in any interior, and could be used to make up an exterior without a problem.
Terrain Is very specific. It is a deformable sheet of polygons, that exists solely within our engine (is not exported from 3DS Max or other programs), and is controlled/deformed through the use of a heightmap. Terrain is what makes up the ground in Monster Island, Lemuria, Canada, and the Desert. And, it is what has already been used for the ground on the moonbase. Terrain is it's own special beast. I have very specific controls over terrain, which are drastically different from my controls over Geometry, and vice versa. As such, Terrain cannot be swapped out using hideout tech the way everything else can.
If we were to do an exterior, that we wanted to be able to swap, we would use regular geometry, to simulate terrain. In essence, we would be replicating the terrain in a different manner. This is more difficult, as we would not have available our specialized terrain tools for the creation of the geometry analog, which is why we do not do so very often. But on a few, smaller scale cases, it would definitely be doable.
Geometry is what the vast majority of the game is made out of, and is something we can swap using the hideout tech. Geometry makes up the floor, walls, ceiling, props, etc. in any interior, and could be used to make up an exterior without a problem.
Terrain Is very specific. It is a deformable sheet of polygons, that exists solely within our engine (is not exported from 3DS Max or other programs), and is controlled/deformed through the use of a heightmap. Terrain is what makes up the ground in Monster Island, Lemuria, Canada, and the Desert. And, it is what has already been used for the ground on the moonbase. Terrain is it's own special beast. I have very specific controls over terrain, which are drastically different from my controls over Geometry, and vice versa. As such, Terrain cannot be swapped out using hideout tech the way everything else can.
If we were to do an exterior, that we wanted to be able to swap, we would use regular geometry, to simulate terrain. In essence, we would be replicating the terrain in a different manner. This is more difficult, as we would not have available our specialized terrain tools for the creation of the geometry analog, which is why we do not do so very often. But on a few, smaller scale cases, it would definitely be doable.
Could you not use geomerty meshes for certain things, much as the Oblivion engine had things like castles actually constructed out of static meshes and the only terrain be the height map? Both Oblivion and Skyrim managed this quite well, though you do have to mind the seams. In fact its in noticing the seams in many places in CO that makes me think they use similar (in concept if not execution) systems, hence the comparison.
Cait, I think you misunderstood? That is how it works. Castles etc. would be static geo, exported from Max, terrain is ONLY for LITERALLY, terrain. Outdoors, natural ground. Nothing else.
Cait, I think you misunderstood? That is how it works. Castles etc. would be static geo, exported from Max, terrain is ONLY for LITERALLY, terrain. Outdoors, natural ground. Nothing else.
Don't hurt yourself. . .
I think we both spoke past each other. You explained that's how it worked, however, I know from experience in the TES games, it is in those engines trivial to change the meshes around - for example in Bloodmoon, when the fort gets attacked.
I -think- you guys do this for the moon outside scenery (I might be wrong) but all in all I would like to see it a little more if possible - for instance perhaps we could be able to change a 'view' out of the caves hideout? Instead of just more caves? Another similar (but probably much more painful) idea would be changing the location of the 'penthouse' in the city with similar slieght of hand.
Personally, Id like to see more options in the non-penthouse hideouts, they seem very small offerings feature-wise, compared to penthouse. Adding something like the view in the cave hideout for example, could enliven those offerings.
it's deformable via height map. i.e. each point on the grid of the sheet is fixed in it's X and Y values, and only the Z value can be modified. Therefor, in regards to a sphere, the best I could do is approximate a single hemisphere. And no, we cannot layer multiple on top of each other.
Cait, I'm not sure I'm following. Yes. . . there are things outside the moon base you CAN swap, but the ground is what I'm talking about. The ground cannot be swapped.
Please could we have as well as the default leave hideout (perhaps tied to a submarine) - but also a secondary leave hideout option (like the flying off the balcony option in penthouses) of jumping / diving into a moon-pool and it spawning you somewhere in the river off of Millennium City, Vibora Bay or off the coast of Monster Island.
I think this secondary option of a type of thematic RP exit would be very popular, the flying off the balcony to exit to MC clearly is!.
if I ever get to do an underwater base, have no fear that it will not include a moon pool.
However, it would act like every hideout exit, and would put you back where you left, not at the river in MIL or something (unless that's where you were when you went to your hideout in the first place)
it's deformable via height map. i.e. each point on the grid of the sheet is fixed in it's X and Y values, and only the Z value can be modified. Therefor, in regards to a sphere, the best I could do is approximate a single hemisphere. And no, we cannot layer multiple on top of each other.
Cait, I'm not sure I'm following. Yes. . . there are things outside the moon base you CAN swap, but the ground is what I'm talking about. The ground cannot be swapped.
I'm saying you could probably simulate swappable terrain with static meshes ...
I think that if we were going to do hideouts in Desert and Canada, we'd do something that fit the theme that's already going on there. Like a military bunker might have a snowy canada exterior or a desert exterior. Penthouse doesn't make sense in either locale. In a similar vein, it would seem silly (to me) to put it under water, but that does not preclude the option of doing some kind of underwater hideout. It would just be built more specifically for that location.
Re: outside hideouts;
I'd call them Sanctuary - but that might be confused with the Sanctum catagory - so I'll go with 'Citadel' for a catagory.
Think a fortress of solitude type-of-hideout (only far more original than that) - and I'll try to concept across a spread of interchangable themes.
Rock Citadel:
Preliminary enviroment of a couple of hundred yards from the entrance. Looking around you are in the distant south-western desert with the Project Greenskin skyscraper and Stronghold statues very faint on the horizon amidst a heat haze.
The ground underneath you is like a cracked earth ancient river-bed on either side of a basalt stone bridge or pathway that has either side of it strut-supports of geometric basalt-stone columns.
The appeal of basalt stone is that they although entirely natural they have an architectual quality to them. Ranging from geometric interlocking shapes on a pathway to basalt stone columns that could make up the architecture of the stone citadel itself.
Along the length of the pathway the stone columns could be jutting out of the desert at angles at varying heights.
Small lights set in the base of the basalt columns light the pathway at night.
Off to the left of the pathway on the dried cracked earth there is the option of: a 4x4 buggy or Huey helicopter in a rough state of repair / disrepair, perhaps some junkyard scrap with tyre-tracks off into the desert, possibly even a rough desert runway with a smaller scale one-man superjet.
The citadel itself would be set into a huge outcrop of desert sandstone, slightly undercut, that has been carved by the desert winds over millennia.
Audio of desert sandstorm winds periodically blowing all around the site and kicking up dust, night-time is calmer with an enhanced star-field away from all the city lights and the occasional desert coyote or wolf howl off in the distance.
The occasional coyote or wolf visits out by the scrapyard, you can feed him by clicking on and emote throwing a chunk of meat..
The outcrop of rock has many huge basalt stone columns jutting out of it, puncturing it and crossing fortress of solitude-style. It looks distinctive but not completely conspicuous due to its native materials and organic structure. There could be skylights or gaps in the architecture to let in light and let air circulate.
The pathway ends at a flourish of basalt columns fa
Preliminary enviroment of a couple of hundred yards from the entrance. Looking around you are deep in the Vibora swamp far away from the lights of Vibora-Bay.
The ground underneath you is swampy on either side of a decrepid and wonky wooden walkway that has either side of it strut-supports of rotting wood poles.
The swamp citadel variant is wood-based. Organic tree trunks of both living and dead cypress tree stumps along with earth make for the load-bearing architecture, whilst the enviroment is framed by distinctive deep-southern Spanish moss, algae-choked waters and log-debris.
Along the length of the rotting wooden bridge, rotting tree trunks could be jutting out of the swamp at angles at varying heights. Spanish moss hanging down obscuring your view at times on approach.
Small gas-lights hanging from the stumps of branches or on the bridge light the pathway on a day/night cycle that rarely gets beyond a dark gloom. At night is dark enough to see fire-flys and the light from your hideout dancing off the still waters of the swamp.
Off to the left of the wooden bridge in the swampy water there is the option of: a swamp/air- boat or traditional boat in a rough state of repair / disrepair, perhaps some junkyard scrap in the water, possibly even a pathway cut through the water-foliage where an optional hard-rib swamp boat has travelled in from.
The swamp citadel itself would be set into a huge clump of earth , draped with moss and sealed with damp mud, it seems almost organically grown onto the dead tree-stump architecture over thousands of years.
Audio of crickets / swamp wildlife periodically all around the site, night-time is quieter but with sustained frog chorus. An enhanced star-field away from all the city lights is seen above the swamp hideout and through the gaps in the swamp flora. The occasional alligator surfaces in the swampy waters, you can feed him by clicking on and emote throwing a chunk of meat. It rains.....a lot.
The outcrop of swamp mud has many dead tree-trunks jutting out of it, puncturing it and crossing fortress of solitude-style. Were it not for the bridge going to it, the lights eminating from within and the surrounding waters isolating it, you could overlook it. There are no skylights, the swamp variant is completely sealed (almost naturally and enhanced with your technology) to resist the soaking-wet climate.
The pathway ends at a flourish of wooden carvings out of the tree-trunk with a small wooden door set into it. To the left of the door there is a carved handprint with technology set into a wooden tree-stump that is the fingerprint recognition entrance. Alternatively it is so incredibly remote and well-hidden there is no need for that option, and you could have an owl on the tree stump instead.
Zoning to the interior, the architecture would be plateau-like inspired off of the organic growth of plant life and wooden platforms in synergy with the organic growth. Differing levels of wooden platforms.
Technology inside re: displays could be bioluminescent for the swamp variant of catagory: [Call that either mysticism, nature-inspired tech or electron-induced fluid Ink for tech/science for explanation].
Things like a kingsize bed would be set into a wooden tree-stump base.
Other swamp-inspired features could be;
Heating element of a log fire with wonky iron chimney giving off a nice warm glow around the interior.
Interior light could be given off by bioluminescent plants set into the mud and wooden walls. Main light sources could be nests of bioluminescence around the rims of stumps and wooden interior (like the upper lip-edges of the trees in the Lime woods in Canada).
Alternatively you could have old-style gas-lights with fireflies contained inside that give off a glow of orange, white, blue or green. Interior of the swamp citadel is all about secondary mood-lighting at gloomy daytime and completely dependant on light source at night..
Computer elements and tech-control centre could be stumpy wooden columns that has display facings on the tops and screens an option of either holographic-like bioluminescence, or traditional digital technology set into the casings of the wooden-stumps platform.
For the traditional technology route you could have small amounts of bark at the base of the platform where the holes for cables have been drilled to give a feel of the technology being retro-fitted into the wood platform and displays. For the stand-alone screens or monitor-display screens you could say the displays are made from flat-cut and polished thin screens of tree-amber / sap set into the wooden units.
Comments
For other look/feel ideas, you could also have a Law Office (something more mid-range, compared to the CEO and PI) and a Doctor's Office (with medical posters, year-old magazines, and all that).
The reason I mention it is because in a comic I wrote a couple of years ago (it's never been drawn, let alone published) the main hero team had a large HQ with a spacious reception area; absent a crisis, the public could come in and tour selected parts of their crime lab, museum, and so forth. For myself, I kind of think of this as an Office style area, though others might have different ideas.
Also, one of the solo heroes in that group made his base out of an "outbuilding" behind his house -- basically a secondary house with a large garage. With that in mind, maybe Garage could be inserted into an Outbuilding category, along with Barn and Trailer House.
(Sorry to not wade through all 26 pages of this... I might just do that later, though, and second others' wonderful ideas.)
1) Dr. Ka's Brownstone - General style and shape of the building. Large, open, high. Balcony overlooking the first floor, a few nooks elsewhere to hang out.
2) Valerian Scarlet's Brownstone/Trey Kings Mansion - This is actually really nicely laid out, especially if the rest of the first floor behind those doors were fleshed out. Nice corridor layout, a library room with overlooking walkways. Make a nice run down/high class/etc. type of mansion.
3) Argent Hunting Lodge - Encountered when you go fight Steel Commando. It's an interesting blend of hunting lodge and Powerhouse style design. Has a back room with a large meeting table and screen. Could be a technological hunting lodge (like it is now) or a log-cabin inspired mountaintop lodge, replacing the meeting room with a rustic table and chairs and the screen with a window that fakes a Candian Wildnerness overlook.
All of these already exist in the game, so maybe they'll make a nice point of reference. :]
"Man Cave" Basement
Ceiling Lights
Striped Lights (Multicolored)
Light Fixtures - Round
Light Fixtures - Square
Central Detail
Foosball Table
Hot Tub
Ping-Pong Table
Pool Table
Corner Detail
Beer Bar
Mini-Kitchen
Crime Computer
MMO Experience (recliner, wireless I/O, and three or for big-screen monitors with STO)
Office Computer Desk
Floor
Hardwood (Light)
Hardwood (Dark)
Social Area
Big-Screen TV
Casino Table
Tailor Area
Gun Racks
Sports Paraphernalia
Wardrobe And Storage Boxes
Under The Stairs
Gun Cases
Sports Equipment
Musical Instrument Cases
Wall Detail
Beer Bottle Bookcase
Beer Stein Display
Hunting Trophies
Sports Trophy Display
Walls
Drywall (Pea Green)*
Drywall (White)
Wood Paneling
*Some of the colors used in the Loft Penthouse could also be used here.
Ive often wanted to make a lemurian superhero but have never managed to get it to how I like it. Having an underwater hideout would be awesome.
Perhaps lemurians would live in an underwater cave? Or maybe in Atlantean ruins like stated.
Theres also the option of an underwater bio-dome like the Gunguns have on Star Wars.
In addition to those a theme that would sell well in my opinion is a crypt/mausoleum type hideout.
There are so many people who like the whole vampire/werewolf/undead theme and this would compliment it moreso.
So many ideas you could apply and with each new release they just get better and better.
Gothic Belfry -- sure to be popular with all the vamp players
Steampunk Clocktower -- using the gearwheels found in the Inventions trainer
Wizard's Redoubt -- your typical wizardly tower with summoning circle, herbarium, and views onto some otherworldly dimension
One that looks like an actual cave.
Without a big gaping chasm / waterfall / hole in the ceiling.
I don't mind a few passages to other cave rooms or whatever, that could be kinda cool and would fit the theme.
However the current cave options are kind of disappointing. They don't really say 'cave' to me, its too fantastical. I don't really want a chasm, lava filled or not. I don't want a waterfall. I don't want to be suspended on a ledge high above a pit. I just want some kind of actual cave hangout.
[sorry, in my haste to post this as a thread I overlooked the sticky)
Something big enough to feel worth it, but not like tanker big.
Thanks Tumer..
Why? Well... Some people might feel nostalgic for the early missions of the game, where you're delving into the sewers... Also, it could fit many character concepts...
(it's nifty too, as it basically is a series of tubes, meaning it'd lend way to a digital wire world (with bonus humour due to the series of tubes bit you could put on the description whilst selling it!), within a glowing tube...)
Crime computer could be an underground telephone wire rerouted into a small alcove with a laptop in it...
Tailor could be a manhole...
Mountain Dojo: Has scenery of mountains and has thick mountain fog. There are stones to break, stone statues to practice on you can hit them to actually break them (interact) and they will be immediately replaced, Bruce Lee spinning wooden post that actually does spin when you "hit it" (interact) as an option and weights are made out of stone attached to steel rod,. An old well out at the front. And huge heavy stones for lifting - all scaled according to the lifting strength level (lightest to titanic) a way to test how heavy of objects you can lift. Ground is laid out with a straw mat.
City Dojo: Scenery of city outside. More likely on 2nd or higher story of a building it shares. Uses weights used in gyms. Has punching bags, sparring protective equipment hanging on the walls, pair of boxing gloves hanging on walls, has a small walk in closet sized shower room. Also has some heavy medicine balls that you can lift similar tot he rocks in the Mountain Dojo. Ground is laid out with the soft spongy material used in city gyms. Maybe a small sparring ring as well.
We do have Ice Caves, unless I'm misunderstanding your request. Go to the Cave hideout and change the Cave Venue to Ice Cave.
Yeah, it comes with Ice, Lava, Rock, and Tropical Caves.
You can make a decent Arcane Castle by combining parts from Arcane and Alchemist Sanctums
We seem to have several players who go with oriental looking characters, whether they're Japanese or Chinese, they're basically overseas and have the look of elegance about them. Since Westside has the Chinese District, and Downtown has the Japanese Gardens (the one with the Cherry Blossom Tree), here's the pitch...Oriental style hideouts.
Whether it's Japanese looking with sliding doors, wooden flooring, small gardens, the idea behind this hideout should be something that's peaceful and enchanting. Whether to invite comrades in arms to discuss your long day, or share warm cups of herbal tea or sake. Of course, there's still a section within the hideout dedicated to your hero, whether your home hides a tech oriented room, magical, or vice versa.
There, that's my 2 cents, heh
So how about a Hi-Tech Penthouse? Import a bunch of the features and items in the Moonbases and the Tech Cave and Basement, and add whatever other stuff might be necessary.
http://joshnewsom.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/Asgard.jpg
Also, along with the Greco-Roman and Egyptian Ruins, you could have Meso-American (Maya, Aztec, even Navajo).
The tailor, there could be a room with gear, or a big statue with swords, and other weapons, racked up infront of it, useful for the tailor, or possibly the player bank
I like the initial-release practice of starting with three versions of any given Hideout. So we can call this a Monastic Retreat, and then also have a Hunter's Retreat with log-cabin walls, animal-head trophies, rustic furniture, and similar stuff. Then we can have a Corporate Retreat, with a more modern/high-tech look.
The "Outside View" could be switchable among Desert View, Forested Mountains, Forested Valley, Rolling Hills, and Snowy Mountains.
Yeah, I kind of like this one.
The way they do hideouts, however, due to the semi-static nature of terrain modeling and whatnot, would require them to make these indoors, and the "changing view" would need to be window with a matte image, not a 3D feature.
I'm OK with that.
uhmm.... no it doesn't, the terrain can be changed just like any other environmental stuff in the game.
when you assign a texture pack to a feature you can just switch from snowy mounain to the middle of a dessert.
......i just hope tumerboy here knows what i am talking about.
I'm all for different objects being flagged as our usual hideout features. I remember on suggesting the tombs/crypt hideout of a crow or raven being used the same way. Way better than a laptop on a desk!, and compliant with the theme!.
Hey, that's the excuse he gave for why they couldn't turn the moonbase into an underwater dome by switching terrain from "space" to "ocean".
I really have to second this. The Argent hunting lodge is off the hook excellent inside. I often wished I could loot the decor after taking out all the resisting opposition.
Hey, now there is another idea. How about creating furniture, statuary, plants, and decor and whatnot that can be taken as trophies to place in ones own abode.
This does remind me... we really could use a Penthouse with the decor found inside some of the classier Vibora Bay locales.
My suggestion: Modern Sanctum, for the mage who likes to stay current. It includes a state of the art computer, contemporary furnishings and decor, a TV viewing area, and other 21st-century stylings. This could all be done without losing the mystical flavor; for example, the computer could have an "astrological symbols" screen saver, the TV remote could float over the couch, the "holographic angel" from the Tech Basement could be brought in (and possibly enlarged), and so forth.
My only other suggestions would be:
Gothic Manor house
Antique/Oddity store
magic/occult store
suburban cookie cutter house
rv/trailer park
I'll second all of these (not sure about the other two). The Gothic manor can be done with a Sanctum (especially if the Modern Sanctum I just suggested is included), but it would also be an interesting twist for the Penthouse.
Basically, I want:
-A treasure room
-A castle, with a treasure room
-A dragon's lair, with a pile of gold
-A dragon's lair castle built into a mountain made of a gigantic pile of gold
A "tiny" hideout would also be cute. Like, a literally tiny hideout, as if your character had shrunk down to enter it. It could be on a bookshelf or in a shoebox or something. Or a mouse hole. One of those stylized modern mouse holes like you always see Jerry of Tom and Jerry fame hanging out in. You know, like he has a chair made out of a thimble and a button and a bed in a matchbox, yet also a working TV somehow.
What?
No, not THAT kind of pole, you silly Club Caprician rejects...
I mean a fireman's pole! We're heroes, right? So maybe we could have (especially as there might eventually be a water powerset...) a firehouse! You know, the places where firemen are based. I think they're called firehouses, they seldom ever come up in conversation.
Bonus points too as it gives the guys who write the descriptions in the C-Store to subtly make a reference to Ghostbusters by having a Condemmed Firehouse hideout.
"I think this building should be condemned. There's serious metal fatigue in all the load-bearing members, the wiring is substandard, it's completely inadequate for our power needs, and the neighborhood is like a demilitarized zone."
Yeah. this would be very subtle. Subtle like Captain Cosmic entering a little girl's bedroom for a tea party.
The latter is what I thought of specifically: there was a request to customize the Basement stairs, and that might just be the ticket. Leave the existing wooden stairs for Mom's (perhaps adding carpeting in a second option), various metal stairs for Tech, and put the fireman's pole in Vigilante... though that might require a couple of new animations (very cool in theory but probably more work than it's worth) or moving the actual entry/exit spot.
But yes, I think a firehouse (yes, that's the correct term, though I usually hear "fire station") would be a great Hideout idea. Not only would it work great for water-based characters, but fire-based ones, and I think gadgeteers and other types would appreciate it as well.
You've said that exterior geometry cannot be changed, but in the context of a small area before entering a hideout (think rock-cave / Ice-cave / dagobah-like swamp hut exterior) would it not be possible to designate that area another room?, a pre-cursor and foyer if you like, (for example) walking along a short bridge over a dried-up riverbed / ice-lake / swamp and entering through the front door ( thus zoning to the interior).
I'm trying to think of a way of making a small outside enviroment have similar features placement and architecture yet be customisable into completely different looking scenes. I'm trying to think how exteriors could have swappable outside features in an outside-hideout catagory.
Eg:
Desert: 4x4 buggy, dried lake bed exterior, boulders, basalt stone columns architecture, stone door.
Antarctic: Helicopter, Hollowed out iceberg, small icebergs in water, Ice columns architecture, Ice door.
Swamp, Swamp boat, swampy marsh, logs and flora, tree-stump columns architecture, wooden door.
The problem on the Moon, is the Terrain
Geometry is what the vast majority of the game is made out of, and is something we can swap using the hideout tech. Geometry makes up the floor, walls, ceiling, props, etc. in any interior, and could be used to make up an exterior without a problem.
Terrain Is very specific. It is a deformable sheet of polygons, that exists solely within our engine (is not exported from 3DS Max or other programs), and is controlled/deformed through the use of a heightmap. Terrain is what makes up the ground in Monster Island, Lemuria, Canada, and the Desert. And, it is what has already been used for the ground on the moonbase. Terrain is it's own special beast. I have very specific controls over terrain, which are drastically different from my controls over Geometry, and vice versa. As such, Terrain cannot be swapped out using hideout tech the way everything else can.
If we were to do an exterior, that we wanted to be able to swap, we would use regular geometry, to simulate terrain. In essence, we would be replicating the terrain in a different manner. This is more difficult, as we would not have available our specialized terrain tools for the creation of the geometry analog, which is why we do not do so very often. But on a few, smaller scale cases, it would definitely be doable.
Could you not use geomerty meshes for certain things, much as the Oblivion engine had things like castles actually constructed out of static meshes and the only terrain be the height map? Both Oblivion and Skyrim managed this quite well, though you do have to mind the seams. In fact its in noticing the seams in many places in CO that makes me think they use similar (in concept if not execution) systems, hence the comparison.
Don't hurt yourself. . .
I think we both spoke past each other. You explained that's how it worked, however, I know from experience in the TES games, it is in those engines trivial to change the meshes around - for example in Bloodmoon, when the fort gets attacked.
I -think- you guys do this for the moon outside scenery (I might be wrong) but all in all I would like to see it a little more if possible - for instance perhaps we could be able to change a 'view' out of the caves hideout? Instead of just more caves? Another similar (but probably much more painful) idea would be changing the location of the 'penthouse' in the city with similar slieght of hand.
Personally, Id like to see more options in the non-penthouse hideouts, they seem very small offerings feature-wise, compared to penthouse. Adding something like the view in the cave hideout for example, could enliven those offerings.
Just how deformable? Could you, for example, use multiple sheets to create a 'ball' with terrain inside, like a Dyson sphere?
Because that would be too cool...
Cait, I'm not sure I'm following. Yes. . . there are things outside the moon base you CAN swap, but the ground is what I'm talking about. The ground cannot be swapped.
Please could we have as well as the default leave hideout (perhaps tied to a submarine) - but also a secondary leave hideout option (like the flying off the balcony option in penthouses) of jumping / diving into a moon-pool and it spawning you somewhere in the river off of Millennium City, Vibora Bay or off the coast of Monster Island.
I think this secondary option of a type of thematic RP exit would be very popular, the flying off the balcony to exit to MC clearly is!.
However, it would act like every hideout exit, and would put you back where you left, not at the river in MIL or something (unless that's where you were when you went to your hideout in the first place)
I'm saying you could probably simulate swappable terrain with static meshes ...
Re: outside hideouts;
I'd call them Sanctuary - but that might be confused with the Sanctum catagory - so I'll go with 'Citadel' for a catagory.
Think a fortress of solitude type-of-hideout (only far more original than that)
Rock Citadel:
Preliminary enviroment of a couple of hundred yards from the entrance. Looking around you are in the distant south-western desert with the Project Greenskin skyscraper and Stronghold statues very faint on the horizon amidst a heat haze.
The ground underneath you is like a cracked earth ancient river-bed on either side of a basalt stone bridge or pathway that has either side of it strut-supports of geometric basalt-stone columns.
See basalt-column examples: here, here, and here and here
The appeal of basalt stone is that they although entirely natural they have an architectual quality to them. Ranging from geometric interlocking shapes on a pathway to basalt stone columns that could make up the architecture of the stone citadel itself.
Along the length of the pathway the stone columns could be jutting out of the desert at angles at varying heights.
Small lights set in the base of the basalt columns light the pathway at night.
Off to the left of the pathway on the dried cracked earth there is the option of: a 4x4 buggy or Huey helicopter in a rough state of repair / disrepair, perhaps some junkyard scrap with tyre-tracks off into the desert, possibly even a rough desert runway with a smaller scale one-man superjet.
The citadel itself would be set into a huge outcrop of desert sandstone, slightly undercut, that has been carved by the desert winds over millennia.
Audio of desert sandstorm winds periodically blowing all around the site and kicking up dust, night-time is calmer with an enhanced star-field away from all the city lights and the occasional desert coyote or wolf howl off in the distance.
The occasional coyote or wolf visits out by the scrapyard, you can feed him by clicking on and emote throwing a chunk of meat..
The outcrop of rock has many huge basalt stone columns jutting out of it, puncturing it and crossing fortress of solitude-style. It looks distinctive but not completely conspicuous due to its native materials and organic structure. There could be skylights or gaps in the architecture to let in light and let air circulate.
The pathway ends at a flourish of basalt columns fa
Preliminary enviroment of a couple of hundred yards from the entrance. Looking around you are deep in the Vibora swamp far away from the lights of Vibora-Bay.
The ground underneath you is swampy on either side of a decrepid and wonky wooden walkway that has either side of it strut-supports of rotting wood poles.
See swamp examples: here, here, here and here.
The swamp citadel variant is wood-based. Organic tree trunks of both living and dead cypress tree stumps along with earth make for the load-bearing architecture, whilst the enviroment is framed by distinctive deep-southern Spanish moss, algae-choked waters and log-debris.
Along the length of the rotting wooden bridge, rotting tree trunks could be jutting out of the swamp at angles at varying heights. Spanish moss hanging down obscuring your view at times on approach.
Small gas-lights hanging from the stumps of branches or on the bridge light the pathway on a day/night cycle that rarely gets beyond a dark gloom. At night is dark enough to see fire-flys and the light from your hideout dancing off the still waters of the swamp.
Off to the left of the wooden bridge in the swampy water there is the option of: a swamp/air- boat or traditional boat in a rough state of repair / disrepair, perhaps some junkyard scrap in the water, possibly even a pathway cut through the water-foliage where an optional hard-rib swamp boat has travelled in from.
The swamp citadel itself would be set into a huge clump of earth , draped with moss and sealed with damp mud, it seems almost organically grown onto the dead tree-stump architecture over thousands of years.
Audio of crickets / swamp wildlife periodically all around the site, night-time is quieter but with sustained frog chorus. An enhanced star-field away from all the city lights is seen above the swamp hideout and through the gaps in the swamp flora. The occasional alligator surfaces in the swampy waters, you can feed him by clicking on and emote throwing a chunk of meat. It rains.....a lot.
The outcrop of swamp mud has many dead tree-trunks jutting out of it, puncturing it and crossing fortress of solitude-style. Were it not for the bridge going to it, the lights eminating from within and the surrounding waters isolating it, you could overlook it. There are no skylights, the swamp variant is completely sealed (almost naturally and enhanced with your technology) to resist the soaking-wet climate.
The pathway ends at a flourish of wooden carvings out of the tree-trunk with a small wooden door set into it. To the left of the door there is a carved handprint with technology set into a wooden tree-stump that is the fingerprint recognition entrance. Alternatively it is so incredibly remote and well-hidden there is no need for that option, and you could have an owl on the tree stump instead.
Zoning to the interior, the architecture would be plateau-like inspired off of the organic growth of plant life and wooden platforms in synergy with the organic growth. Differing levels of wooden platforms.
Technology inside re: displays could be bioluminescent for the swamp variant of catagory: [Call that either mysticism, nature-inspired tech or electron-induced fluid Ink for tech/science for explanation].
Things like a kingsize bed would be set into a wooden tree-stump base.
Other swamp-inspired features could be;
Heating element of a log fire with wonky iron chimney giving off a nice warm glow around the interior.
Interior light could be given off by bioluminescent plants set into the mud and wooden walls. Main light sources could be nests of bioluminescence around the rims of stumps and wooden interior (like the upper lip-edges of the trees in the Lime woods in Canada).
Alternatively you could have old-style gas-lights with fireflies contained inside that give off a glow of orange, white, blue or green. Interior of the swamp citadel is all about secondary mood-lighting at gloomy daytime and completely dependant on light source at night..
Computer elements and tech-control centre could be stumpy wooden columns that has display facings on the tops and screens an option of either holographic-like bioluminescence, or traditional digital technology set into the casings of the wooden-stumps platform.
For the traditional technology route you could have small amounts of bark at the base of the platform where the holes for cables have been drilled to give a feel of the technology being retro-fitted into the wood platform and displays. For the stand-alone screens or monitor-display screens you could say the displays are made from flat-cut and polished thin screens of tree-amber / sap set into the wooden units.