test content
Logo
What is the Arc Client?
Install Arc
A radical change in focus is needed.
crappynamerules
Posts: 81 Arc User
A friend of mine on Skype brought up that the CO facebook was asking if players had been RPing the Lemurian event, and then sharing some of the sarcastic replies. My friends and I often have conversations like this on Skype, where we have our SG members all invited to a group chat. It's the only way we really seem to keep in touch these days. So few of us are really into playing the game at all, and the last time we actually RPed was months ago. We've all heard the stories that there's only two devs actually working on the game, and we see how little comes out, which seems to corroborate that. And what does, seems to always be focused around one thing: vehicles.
It's obvious where the game's limited resources are going, with each and every new rocket cycle or flying tank or whathaveyou. I know why this is probably a development focus. It's like the starships in STO, and people always love those and buy them up, right? STO is indeed a game that is doing really well right now, and looking to it for ideas on how to make CO better is a good strategy. But rote copying is not. Champions Online is a super hero game, Star Trek Online is not. People are very interested in starship choices in STO because starships are a big part of star trek.
Vehicles on the other hand, are not a big part of the super hero genre. Yes, there are some that maintain a number of vehicles they use to get around. These are few and far between, and even though they have these vehicles, action does not center around them. How often do you see Batman getting into dogfights in the batplane? It's a very rare occurrence. He's more often skulking around, investigating mysteries, and fighting bad guys in the flesh. He's a super hero, not a fighter pilot.
Vehicles should be regarded as one very small part of Champions Online. They should not be the primary focus of new game content for months on end. Releasing the hawkwings with the nighthawk stuff? That was extremely smart. The whole update was centered around that particular kind of content. There were new powers and missions, as well as the vehicles and a new archetype, which all worked to allow players to make characters similar to nighthawk. But after that, the vehicles just seemed to keep coming. Hover tanks of varying (okay, two really) shapes and sizes, grav bikes, all unremarkable and just kind of...there. We even got a new large scale queued mission, centered around...again, vehicles.
Instead of allowing people to play a particular broad type of character(which should be what new content focuses on), vehicles have become the focus. This is BAD. I cannot stress enough how BAD of an idea this is. This is a SUPER HERO GAME. New content should be centered on allowing people to better customize and bring to life their visions of comic book superhero characters. This isn't GI Joe. Could you make characters who'd fit right into GI Joe as part of a super hero genre? Absolutely. But we aren't getting all sorts of new content for that kind of a character. No solid munitions updates or new powers entirely. We're just getting more and more vehicles.
I don't know what profits these vehicles are netting, but I'm willing to bet it's not much, and certainly not enough to justify assigning more resources to this game. I even bought one myself a while back. My logic was that people would really be crazy about that stealth hawkwing that was all black and could turn invisible, so I could make lots of G off it. I put it up for a good deal lower than the lowest sale. I watched it throughout its sale period, there was no one putting up a lower competing price. It expired. I wound up having to sell it for a much lower price, because no one wanted the damned thing.
I'm willing to bet that's the case across the board. No one wants the damned things. Do I see people all over the place zipping around in vehicles? No, I don't. I may see one here or there when I'm in populated areas, but that's it. Continuing to waste effort on more of these things is just not a luxury this game seems to have. You need to make stuff that appeals to much larger proportions of the player base.
I'm not going to make specific suggestions, because I doubt they'll be considered or even read. I imagine I'll be lucky if what I've written here already even is. One thing this game needs BADLY though, is the foundry. STO's foundry has actually become a very bustling aspect of the game. It's taken a lot of pressure off its development team to come out with new mission content, and a lot of the stuff players turn out with it is actually quite good. Even if what we get is more like STO's first incarnation of it, with a lot less customization options for what we put in there, it's still something. Even if all it lets me do is choose from my nemeses and their minion sets and use those as baddies, I'd still be content. This is something that will keep people actually playing the game, and by proxy, actually buying things or subscribing. With so little resources clearly invested development-wise, this is the key to consistently giving players things to occupy themselves in the game.
It's obvious where the game's limited resources are going, with each and every new rocket cycle or flying tank or whathaveyou. I know why this is probably a development focus. It's like the starships in STO, and people always love those and buy them up, right? STO is indeed a game that is doing really well right now, and looking to it for ideas on how to make CO better is a good strategy. But rote copying is not. Champions Online is a super hero game, Star Trek Online is not. People are very interested in starship choices in STO because starships are a big part of star trek.
Vehicles on the other hand, are not a big part of the super hero genre. Yes, there are some that maintain a number of vehicles they use to get around. These are few and far between, and even though they have these vehicles, action does not center around them. How often do you see Batman getting into dogfights in the batplane? It's a very rare occurrence. He's more often skulking around, investigating mysteries, and fighting bad guys in the flesh. He's a super hero, not a fighter pilot.
Vehicles should be regarded as one very small part of Champions Online. They should not be the primary focus of new game content for months on end. Releasing the hawkwings with the nighthawk stuff? That was extremely smart. The whole update was centered around that particular kind of content. There were new powers and missions, as well as the vehicles and a new archetype, which all worked to allow players to make characters similar to nighthawk. But after that, the vehicles just seemed to keep coming. Hover tanks of varying (okay, two really) shapes and sizes, grav bikes, all unremarkable and just kind of...there. We even got a new large scale queued mission, centered around...again, vehicles.
Instead of allowing people to play a particular broad type of character(which should be what new content focuses on), vehicles have become the focus. This is BAD. I cannot stress enough how BAD of an idea this is. This is a SUPER HERO GAME. New content should be centered on allowing people to better customize and bring to life their visions of comic book superhero characters. This isn't GI Joe. Could you make characters who'd fit right into GI Joe as part of a super hero genre? Absolutely. But we aren't getting all sorts of new content for that kind of a character. No solid munitions updates or new powers entirely. We're just getting more and more vehicles.
I don't know what profits these vehicles are netting, but I'm willing to bet it's not much, and certainly not enough to justify assigning more resources to this game. I even bought one myself a while back. My logic was that people would really be crazy about that stealth hawkwing that was all black and could turn invisible, so I could make lots of G off it. I put it up for a good deal lower than the lowest sale. I watched it throughout its sale period, there was no one putting up a lower competing price. It expired. I wound up having to sell it for a much lower price, because no one wanted the damned thing.
I'm willing to bet that's the case across the board. No one wants the damned things. Do I see people all over the place zipping around in vehicles? No, I don't. I may see one here or there when I'm in populated areas, but that's it. Continuing to waste effort on more of these things is just not a luxury this game seems to have. You need to make stuff that appeals to much larger proportions of the player base.
I'm not going to make specific suggestions, because I doubt they'll be considered or even read. I imagine I'll be lucky if what I've written here already even is. One thing this game needs BADLY though, is the foundry. STO's foundry has actually become a very bustling aspect of the game. It's taken a lot of pressure off its development team to come out with new mission content, and a lot of the stuff players turn out with it is actually quite good. Even if what we get is more like STO's first incarnation of it, with a lot less customization options for what we put in there, it's still something. Even if all it lets me do is choose from my nemeses and their minion sets and use those as baddies, I'd still be content. This is something that will keep people actually playing the game, and by proxy, actually buying things or subscribing. With so little resources clearly invested development-wise, this is the key to consistently giving players things to occupy themselves in the game.
Post edited by crappynamerules on
0
Comments
No, just kidding. I think you're right on a lot of points. I got 3 vehicles myself. Bought one, unlocked one with gamble bags (I know, I know, but my golden storm trooper needs it) , and tried my butt off for the third one in a CC. I like the system, because I see your point and raise you ghost rider. The power rangers. Etc... However, that system has run its course. a few extra weapons, now and again? Sure, but truth be told? I want more story. Comic series, or something. Hell, use existing stuff. Bring us back to Multifara ala return to Oz, and let us see what new evil has befallen the place.
I'd love the foundry, but I don't think we'll see that till months after neverwinter's release. Still, tho, right there with you and most everyone else. A game with this much customization needs customizable missions, too. It's just a no brainer.
RIP Caine
And you never have to use em, for the most part. Sky carrier didn't need em, this one needs em a bit more, but you still get a loaner device if you wanna do your own thing. I mean, I could say "voltron" or "big O" and keep this going, but I have vehicles. I don't spend all my time on em, either. Think of this new mission as the megazord battle, and you might be in the best mindset to appreciate it. Especially if you're awesome enough to not need one.
Were you around when aftershock first made us use terrible AT style forced becomes to do part of the last battle? Same thing was said then, and it passed as well. I mean, don't get me wrong, I agree with you that it might be time to branch out. But this isn't as bad as it has been, because at least you have a choice. It's been the case, in the past, that you didn't.
RIP Caine