Also, CoH really wasn't all that great, I played it, it was like a very Beta feeling CO with really terrifying models
Considering the models were nearly 10 years old at the time of the game closure...
Even then, they weren't that bad.
also, cooldowns, lots of cooldowns. I can't think of anything more exciting than waiting to shoot at someone with my assault rifle for 5 seconds between three round bursts. To its credit that's how literally every other mmo out there works basically, but also why I hate MMOs.
This is also why you had a plethora of powers to use. As opposed to CO where "Spam one or two powers and keep your energy builder on auto" is more or less the norm.
Something called an "attack chain" rather than "Hold this button down".
They cherry picked the questions, of course. Lots of lockbox/vehicle stuff. Very little about serious development or content. Probably meaning there won't be any.
I don't know what's worse, having suddenly, unexpectedly, needlessly lost a game that had amazing development, or finding a new home with wonderful potential that I can clearly watch circling the drain needlessly.
I see a scary future for Superhero MMO's. I hope I'm wrong.
Thanks for ignoring PvP yet again and choosing instead to have joke questions about bacon. Real classy Cryptic keep dumping on part of your playerbase and ignoring that it even exists. Ya the playerbase has gotten extremely small compared to what it once was but what do you think all those that have left are telling their friends about how cryptic treats its players?.
Personally I think a better tl;dr would be as follows:
Soon(tm)
Soon(tm)
Soon(tm)
Because we're too lazy to properly fix it.
Soon(tm)
Soon(tm)
Soon(tm)
Soon(tm)
Maybe Soon(tm)
Soon(tm)
Maybe Soon(tm)
Maybe Soon(tm)
Soon(tm)
Soon(tm)
Moar lockboxes Soon(tm)
Maybe Soon(tm)
Soon(tm)
Maybe Soon(tm)
No
No
No
Yes
Maybe Soon(tm)
Maybe Soon(tm) and No
Maybe Soon(tm)
Soon(tm)
Maybe Soon(tm)
Bacon is delicious and the other serious questions were too hard.
I've typed this before...(as a dream of some sorts)
This Champions Online is OLD CODE...
SOME room for expansion (vehicles, lockboxes, auras) but still OLD CODE.
STO is BASED off the old code, but was tweaked to fit a FOUNDRY.
NWO has newer code than STO and also has Foundry.
Champions Online-REBORN! (Project X????? If that doesnt sound like it belongs in a comic book...) is the game we love, with the newer, later code base to do newer things and have a FOUNDRY. The review, porting and updating of current assets and the creation of newer ones is slooowly going on behind the scenes. Rejected STO and NWO environs have been slated to be tweaked for CO-R!, you know, for those raised level capped areas.
And hey, spell checking can be time consuming.....
(I'm not sure I should wake up now...this is really pleasant....)
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
"Few are agreeable in conversation, because each thinks more of what he intends to say than that of what others are saying, and listens no more when he himself has a chance to speak." - Francois de la Rochefoucauld
"Forums are amazing technology. They can take a seemingly normal and
rational person and make them look like a troll. Short-sighted, misguided, creative effort deprived. Incredible." - Snarlygribbly
Thanks for ignoring PvP yet again and choosing instead to have joke questions about bacon. Real classy Cryptic keep dumping on part of your playerbase and ignoring that it even exists. Ya the playerbase has gotten extremely small compared to what it once was but what do you think all those that have left are telling their friends about how cryptic treats its players?.
Compare this with the May 2011 Ask Cryptic and it's not hard to see why people are upset. We had better communication back then, and while we didn't get all of our questions answered concretely, the amount was much higher back then (as opposed to next to none, currently.)
Compare this with the May 2011 Ask Cryptic and it's not hard to see why people are upset. We had better communication back then, and while we didn't get all of our questions answered concretely, the amount was much higher back then (as opposed to next to none, currently.)
From that 2011 Ask Cryptic:
.......... Q: Mothers_Love: Do you see a Champions-Online MMO eventually including more locales from the IP as full-zones?. I?m talking Shamballah, Well of the Worlds, Arcadia; the City of gold and Atlantis in-particular.
A: There is a lot from the IP that we want to be able to bring to you. As far as content goes, we want to be able to take you to a variety of locations and provide a story that is fun and compelling. Full Content Zones of IP locations is a bit of a stretch in this year and is not on the current 2011 release schedule. We are focusing on bringing you the Comic Series and some other really cool content that will surely make you feel heroic. I am going to be a little vague on that last bit for now. Discussion for a new zone could start later this year but I will say again I would rather get an endgame system and zone in before a new Content Zone.
........
And how is that endgame system and zone coming along nearly two years later?....
Oh thats right, everything is thrown out along with the kitchen sink everytime a new EP comes on-board isn't it.
How are you ever... ever going to make any progress whatsoever, if the studio does not have a development plan and stick to it?.
..........................................
Dropping my knitting to buff you whilst hitting - Proudly protecting Millennium City's little ones since 2009.
Are there any plans to put the various Nemesis Villains (Black Scorpion, Crucible, Greyskull, Gargoyle, Morticus, and so on) into the Nemesis Missions to replace the Generic Nemesis(Lilith, Deathmetal) for people who are under LvL 25 since Generic Nemesis are ALL Infernal and ugly? If no, then are there plans to LvL Restrict Nemesis Alerts so 25+? If not, why?
We don?t currently have any plans to change the Nemesis Alerts.
I didn't actually expect my questions to get picked after I insulted that one generic half naked clown nemesis.... Can't say I'm surprised by this answer, but the paraphrase wasn't exactly what I meant. For the second half, my thoughts were more along the line of 'Why do we constantly see the generics when almost everyone in the alert has a nemesis?'. And I didn't want them restricted to 25+, I'd just like to see more player-created Nemeses instead of generics. I'd also like to clarify that they're not all ugly. I do like the appearance of that one grey woman who wears orange-ish Mystic costume pieces. But the whole 'completely random nonsensical name + minions + powerset makes them less appealing than they would be if those details were locked in. Like I said in the Ask Cryptic thread, a giant male robot with cowboy minions, infernal powers, a floor length skirt and the name 'Lilith' makes no sense.
I'm somewhat disappointed several of the answers were along the lines of 'We don't currently have plans for that', but I'm a bit relieved that we're actually being spoken to again.
And I appear to have made another wall of text. I do need to stop doing that....
Okay, when exactly were SG Bases "promised"? I can find lots of speculation from posters about them, but if there was ever anything actually promised about that, I must have missed it...
I mean, there's plenty of material here to throw stones about - why go dragging something in out of left field?
"Science teaches us to expect -- demand -- more than just eerie mysteries. What use is a puzzle that can't be solved? Patience is fine, but I'm not going to stop asking the universe to make sense!"
I was expecting this Ask Cryptic to be entirely bland. Lets just see if this doesn't end up being another innovative list that only a third of it gets done this year. Lets hope that this is only a list of things to work on and get done before summer (May earliest) comes and the next Ask Cryptic pops up.
Land Vehicles? Ever gonna happen? Things with wheels are in high demand.
We are planning to do land vehicles as part of an upcoming story arc.
They need to be Vehicle Travel Powers.
Is the MegaD event and the backups eventually coming back?
Yes!
We already know this. A wasted question.
Will we ever see the return of past Events such as the Nighthawk event as cycling events such as the Blood Moon event were?
You?re in luck. We?re planning to bring back certain ?one-time content? events (such as Nighthawk) as recurring features. We?re not ready to talk about specifics yet, but we don?t want scheduled events to vanish forever when they end.
We already know this. A wasted question.
Have you considered integration between the web-based community and the in-game community by showcasing things either on the launcher, or perhaps adding in-game system notifications regarding articles/press?
That is a very cool idea that we will look into.
The Referral Program would be a great start.
What's going on with the Foundry?
We would really love to add the Foundry to CO, but it?s a very large undertaking and we?re still figuring out if/how we could do it.
Is the CO interface that messed up that you can't add a menu to it? What is so hard about starting somewhere?
May we have some Vehicle vs Vehicle team battlegrounds?
Cool idea, added to our list. We hadn?t previously considered it, but we?ll give it some thought.
You forgot about vehicle PvP already? You were the ones who suggested vehicle PvP maps.
Have vehicles reached their final stage or there are further plans for them?
We will be adding new vehicles as time goes on, and you will also see vehicle systems of higher rank.
This BETTER NOT make the current 8 slot vehicles obsolete. The ones people gambled hundreds of dollars for?
When will CO get vehicles that look like they belong in CO and are more stylized versions of more mundane vehicles like motorcycles, Viper Quads, and such?
We?re going to add a variety of vehicle types, so you will be able to choose one that fits in with the aesthetic / backstory of your character.
As long as they don't follow the theme of these bulky buildings with jets attached.
Is there a chance to re allow the hood from the nighthawk set to be used by ALL types of heads?
We will look into this and see if it?s possible.
It is possible. We know it is. Unless you are suggesting that a head piece slider (hair/hood) can be added to the tailor.
Can you please fix the random powersets for the FAKE nemesis(s), they all come up as scourge.
We?ll put it on the list of things to look into.
Are there any plans to put the various Nemesis Villains(Black Scorpion, Crucible, Greyskull, Gargoyle, Morticus, and so on) into the Nemesis Missions to replace the Generic Nemesis(Lilith, Deathmetal) for people who are under LvL 25 since Generic Nemesis are ALL Infernal and ugly? If no, then are there plans to LvL Restrict Nemesis Alerts so 25+? If not, why?
We don?t currently have any plans to change the Nemesis Alerts.
Those two answers contradict each other. Me thinks that whoever answered these is unaware that both of those questions are about the same thing.
Will the nemesis creator be updated with the Earth and Wind Power sets?
We?re not currently planning to expand the Nemesis Creator.
This doesn't mean that the Nemesis system isn't being expanded, right?
Can the old Grab Bags (The Mountain Grab Bag, The Cursed Grab Bag, and the Drifter Salvage Box) be put into the Questionite Store alongside the Nighthawk Grab Bag (aka the Utility belt)?
We?re not opposed to it, but updating old items isn?t a priority for us right now.
Taking the individual drop items and adding them to a vendor shouldn't take more than a couple days. At worse, just add the grab bag themselves to the Questionite store list like you did the Becomes.
I still give Cryptic 3 months after NWO goes live to decide if I quit waiting for new content.
Yeup. We're going to publish this later today. We're really trying to avoid the SOON(tm) response, so wherever possible we're answering specific questions that we can directly address, or at least giving a sense of what order things will come in -- what their relative priorities are.
"Land Vehicles? Ever gonna happen? Things with wheels are in high demand.
We are planning to do land vehicles as part of an upcoming story arc."
First off, Devs n Folks at Cryptic..Thanks for giving us this opportunity to be heard. And thanks for picking and answering my question (Quoted above)!!
This answer has me very excited, as well as a lot of our other gamers I'm sure. I can't wait to see what arc these vehicles roll out with. No pun intended.
Though, there's one thing I was hoping to see answered that wasn't..And that's possible vehicle cosmetic customization.
I remember awhile back, the tailor on the PTS had this glitch where the bike would show up with your character while tailoring, and we could change the colors.
PLEEASSEE bring this back, tweak it, make it an actual feature for all vehicles?!
You would not only make me a very happy man, but would bring a lot of the excitement that we initially had about vehicles back.
Another thing..PVP Acclaim awards was overlooked, as well as power sets, and many other key questions. Questions about the state of the game's future in particular. TTurtle, Devs, ppl at PWE...You guys need to put your heads together and think of a way to reassure your playerbase if you plan on keeping us around for anything other than funding Neverwinter and STO. While some of the answers are exciting, we need some more concrete evidence to show that our subs aren't going to waste. Like others have mentioned...Last year's "Ask Cryptic" Was much more thorough. And didn't waste questions on bacon!
I'm trusting that you all will take the time to read these responses and figure out how to save this amazing game.
:biggrin:
Thanks again!
The Champions Online CODEBASE is not the same thing as the Champions Online DATA SET.
The code makes it look pretty and lets you have powers and actions and interactions and communicates with your client. The DATA SET gives you environments, appearances, selection of powers, etc. etc.
Star Trek Online has a LATER version of the CODEBASE than Champions Online, and NeverWinter Nights has an even later version than that... As Is Expected, because nobody wants to put out a game that has an engine that is less useful than the ones in the competition.
The DATA SET of art, scripts, maps, decor, everything that makes the world unique, is what has to be made accessible through the separate code module that constitutes a Foundry. The STO data set is configured to allow that. The Champions Online one? I suspect not so much, and going through it, selecting the usable parts, configuring it for the Foundry code, figuring out how to make scripting available for the players, all is harder because the work hasn't been done. It took the developers working on City of Heroes six months and change to pull it off and even then it took three more months to get it into play. So making a howling fuss over the Foundry being investigated for how much time and work it would take is rather short-sighted.
As for what I find to be the real problem, and the thing that was ignored in the questions, even though it definitely reads to how much a company is committed to its product and its ongoing support: The number of developers assigned.
It appears, from the rates of development, that there are CURRENTLY on Champions Online, (1) no engine developers since the graphical-interface memory leaks which were present in Beta remain there still, (2) one powers developer, allocated to the current apparent profit generator (vehicles via lockboxes), (3) one or two artists, and (4) one dedicated or maybe half-time shared writer, and a small budget for voice actors and music when they are ready to release a new content piece.
And Trail Turtle, who is a marvelous and useful creature who makes a difference in keeping us from being totally in the dark but who is not a developer in the traditional sense.
(I say apparent profit generator because I believe based on informal chat with other players that the purchase of keys using cash has dropped sharply, and continues to drop.)
As an 'original beta' lifetimer, as well as a City of Heroes alum from June 2004 continuous until they pulled the servers, I am forced to say that this has not been unexpected. Game companies don't generally 'get' sustaining - World of ******** aside - and Cryptic in specific, even though it's been through at least four new "masters" and has had probably two changes of overall management, has still demonstrated a deep and abiding fear of hiring sustaining people to keep developing on the existing, in-place stuff.
And when they do, they tend to pull them off to "the next thing" when the next thing gets behind schedule and runs into production glitches. This is not a sign of coherent software development; if anything it reeks of marketing-driven confusion rather than market-driven excellence.
The current buzz phrase is "do not sell a product. Instead delight the customer continually."
I've been delighted once or twice, but lately the "sell a product" focus has been so pervasive and insistent that I decided to stop buying lockbox keys in protest - because they're a dollar apiece and what comes out isn't really WORTH a dollar, except when one is excessively lucky. I confess to having been excessively lucky TWICE on the lockboxes, but never in the "boss battles" over the time I've played.
And a final chastisement - I still see one or two bugs that I recall reporting in the beta test. That's probably never going to change; some bugs aren't worth the time to track down. But it's still annoying because finding and fixing such bugs, under the supervision of a more experienced designer, is how one learns an unfamiliar piece of software when one is sustaining it. That's why I know there's nobody doing that job as such.
ETA: Really, PWE and Cryptic? Censoring the name of the competition? That's hilarious.
as disappointing and vague as some....okay most of the answers were to the more pressing questions, or the lack there of of answers. There is still some good news, Telepathy hasn't been forgotten, and they're going to get to it after the Aura system...
Are Auras on the agenda for 2013?
Yes, we are planning to spend some time this year to get the Aura system finished.
Telepathy review? Will it ever happen?
We are planning to take another look at Telepathy after Auras. There are some tricky technical issues to iron out, but we haven?t forgotten about it.
While the nemesis information is disheartening and we're getting More lockboxes
And hey to all those that were gripping about not getting content, it might not be a new zone, but at least we're getting some stories. and that picture LordGar posted has me intrigued, and no not the bacon jerky, that stuff is tasty btw. What was under it. could it be Mechanon is finally going to be revealed after all those hints from the book in Ren Cen to the possessed ATM in Westside? or could it be a hint at the Star Guard making its appearance after shooting down that Roin'Esh ship in White Out...could it possibly be Roin'Esh are going to take another run at Millenium City? Log in to find out, Soon(tm). :eek: :biggrin: :cool:
as disappointing and vague as some....okay most of the answers were to the more pressing questions, or the lack there of of answers. There is still some good news, Telepathy hasn't been forgotten, and they're going to get to it after the Aura system...
They said the same thing in the State of the Game in August.
If you are not completely COMPLETELY green, you know this is yet another blow off.
no, I'm not completely green, and I'm not completely jaded yet either I still find the game to be mostly fun. You don't agree because of your main being nerfed into oblivion, and I get that and I fully support the #Telepathynow...but to be fair they started the Aura Slots first...And I'm actually looking forward to seeing what they come out with next and no that's not Fan Boying it up...okay maybe a little, but you know what IDC. I like the game, so despite its many ad nauseum faults. Thank you and have good day, sir.
...what are you hiding underneath the bacon and why?
I asked Dr Cerebellum about this and showed her the pic, it seems to have given her flashbacks from the time her experimental rocketship was shot down on...... [static] ....where her life, though not her body, was saved by a.... [static] ...resulting in the volterrific superhero we all know and love today. The good doc has since been on the line with her sister... [static] ...all morning and mentioned something about needing to fortify the.. [static].. further. What the.. [static] .. my signal is being intercepted. Defender if you are reading this call.... [static].. grey.. [static] ..Pipistrelle.. [signal lost]
___________________________________
While she has been rescued
what diabolical mastermind
was behind the devious brain-napping of
the Volterrific Dr Cerebellum?
Ya a bit lol. Been playing almost 4 years was a subscriber now a lifetimer and dont want to add up how much actual money i have dumped in this game just to have one of my favorite parts **** on more and more with every new dev team. So a bit of anger in this situation I think is justified but hey that's only my opinion and i'll probably get another juvenile response just for stating it.
The bitter old timers in the forums twisting Cryptic's words, and I satisfied with a cryptic announcement?
I am totally shocked!
Not.
I thought we got some great insight into what we can expect from CO this year.
I am super excited about the upcoming Aura system! And I bet 95% of those people who actually play the game and not the forums will love what CO brings us this year.
I would like to see a general Energy Projector powerset, as that's perhaps the second or third most common trope in comics, but nobody ever promised it to me, so...
"Science teaches us to expect -- demand -- more than just eerie mysteries. What use is a puzzle that can't be solved? Patience is fine, but I'm not going to stop asking the universe to make sense!"
AWESOME!!!!
MORE VEHICLES!!!!!
SOOOO EXCITED ABOUT IT!!!
And thanks for leaving the Nemesis System to way it is. Who needs nemeses anyway when you can have Vehicles!!!!!!
*uck *uo, Cryptic and PW. *uck *uo.
Thanks.
CHAMPIONS ONLINE:Join Date: Apr 2008
And playing by myself since Aug 2009 Godtier: Lifetime Subscriber
Based on that Q&A, the list of confirmed stuff we're getting this year looks like:
Aura slots
Telepathy review... Soon?
More Lemurian Invasion-style story arcs
Repeat telecasts of old events like Nighthawk
Trailturtle AF
More PTS playtest events
More vehicles, and vehicle systems (weapons?), possibly including ground vehicles
Villain contest winner alerts
Would have liked more substantial, paid content not related to vehicles or lockboxes or vehicles in lockboxes, but can't complain if the new arcs and villain contest alerts are free.
The bitter old timers in the forums twisting Cryptic's words, and I satisfied with a cryptic announcement?
I am totally shocked!
Not.
I thought we got some great insight into what we can expect from CO this year.
I am super excited about the upcoming Aura system! And I bet 95% of those people who actually play the game and not the forums will love what CO brings us this year.
I want Kirby dots! And a quadbike!
Some of us "bitter old timers" like to have our feet firmly placed on the ground and not wear rose-colored glasses all of the time.
Since we're throwing labels around, I have a fitting one for you. I'll refrain from using it but I'm sure you know what it is.
To be fair, apart from all the "maybe" and "soon" ambiguous answers, I'm happy to hear that they're adding auras sometime this year if they keep to their promise.
Yeah, i was a bit disappointed with a lot of the "no, we're not going to do that" answers as well as the "soon" answers. "Soon" can often be never in terms of making things happen in game, so over all it was underwhelming, but i AM glad for the fact that they did an Ask Cryptic, and i hope they keep them coming each month.
Based on that Q&A, the list of confirmed stuff we're getting this year looks like:
Aura slots
Telepathy review... Soon?
More Lemurian Invasion-style story arcs
Repeat telecasts of old events like Nighthawk
Trailturtle AF
More PTS playtest events
More vehicles, and vehicle systems (weapons?), possibly including ground vehicles
Villain contest winner alerts
Would have liked more substantial, paid content not related to vehicles or lockboxes or vehicles in lockboxes, but can't complain if the new arcs and villain contest alerts are free.
Make sure you save this post or something. Now because of the confirmed Q&A of what he said he does plan on getting to us, and if one more year goes by without any or missing most of this promised list, then either Cryptic is behind in the CO team staff department, or it's all bark and gruff.
However, if they manage to do #1, #2, and number #8, I'll be impressed.
The answers were slightly disappointing, but not unexpected. They fund development based on revenue, so anything really big is probably off the table. I was really hoping they might mention starting work on the foundry. I guess that ain't happening for at least a year or two, if at all. Feels like CO has gone into maintenance mode--add a mission arc a month to keep subscribers.
The answers were slightly disappointing, but not unexpected. They fund development based on revenue, so anything really big is probably off the table. I was really hoping they might mention starting work on the foundry. I guess that ain't happening for at least a year or two, if at all. Feels like CO has gone into maintenance mode--add a mission arc a month to keep subscribers.
If they are serious about revenue, they would add Costume Packs, premium power sets, and new travel powers. I'm going to assume that these 3 would be CO's biggest money makers back in it's prime.
Based on that Q&A, the list of confirmed stuff we're getting this year looks like:
Aura slots
Telepathy review... Soon?
More Lemurian Invasion-style story arcs
Repeat telecasts of old events like Nighthawk
Trailturtle AF
More PTS playtest events
More vehicles, and vehicle systems (weapons?), possibly including ground vehicles
Villain contest winner alerts
Would have liked more substantial, paid content not related to vehicles or lockboxes or vehicles in lockboxes, but can't complain if the new arcs and villain contest alerts are free.
Hum.... it seems 2013 will be an another year with almost no content or substance...
Some 5 mns missions as the last event, lockboxes, vehicules and auras or every other fluff they can sell, but nothing which can give us new things to do or up the gameplay.
(alerts? they can't raise the level. New maps or new level 40 lairs? Questions are evaded but don't worry,"we will have some 5 mns story arcs").
Ok.
I find very funny to read the sidekick to lvl40 was a problem in alerts.
Who has developped City of heroes which hadn't any problem with sidekick ? Is it the actual Cryptic team or those who knows do that, was in paragon ?
This Ask Cryptic don't please me, the game seems almost in maintenance mode for 2013 too, as it was for 2012. But i'm not surprised.
This really is more of a "State of the Game" than an "Ask Cryptic", and the state of the game is bad, and looks bad for months to come.
Everything is either a "maybe soon" or just a flat out "No".
This is what happens when a development group takes on more than they can handle, accepting a third MMO when the first two were in dire need of updates was a huge mistake, and is clearly showing. Not to mention this third MMO is another typical run of the mill dungeons and dragons fantasy game, when the other two are rare breeds genre-wise.
Still... I'd rather have little to no content updates than lock boxes and microtransactions with insulting prices, you can thank both PWE and Cryptic for that!
The general feeling is that the game has no development planned at all. Old problems will not be solved, old gear will not be updated.
The real problem is that apparently the old systems (crafting, PvP, Nemesis, alerts) will not be revisited. This would explain why Telepathy is pushed back. Powersets will be left there with no development planned at all, no new powers, no major reviews on them.
Just slow progress on the latest system (vehicles) and short storyline content (which I love). Since they really believe in vehicles I hope they do finish them! I do not care about them, but ok, having a fully fleshed out system is appreciated.
Love the idea of auras, if that means a well thought system that works It would be cool if you had them in the Z-store in packs or as individual pieces like travel powers.
Love the idea of new short story arcs. I wish they write the new arcs more coherently than the Lemurian invasion "story arc". Coherency is severly lacking right now: it started with the archeologist, which was completely forgotten. Julie Morgan investigates and got her cellphone taken away, but puts Until on alert. You collect info on the planned attack on Until but when they invade the vault Until is taken by surprise... I guess they attack the vault to get the Kraken summoning device, you stop them, but they still get it (at least make a cutscene where one escapes with the statue before you enter...).
______________________________________________________________ My Characters
So I just woke up at 4am like usual and decided to read the notes, all I saw was stuff that made me want to go back to sleep. Not sure if they are trolling or Chinese overlords too strong.
It's gonna be hard for Champions to compete with the other two mmos ( NWN and STO ) due to the fact that both those are supported by such well known franchises.
The bitter old timers in the forums twisting Cryptic's words, and I satisfied with a cryptic announcement?
I am totally shocked!
Not.
I thought we got some great insight into what we can expect from CO this year.
I am super excited about the upcoming Aura system! And I bet 95% of those people who actually play the game and not the forums will love what CO brings us this year.
I want Kirby dots! And a quadbike!
You must be kidding - we *might* get Aura's, forget telepathy. How you can say 95% of the people who play the game who don't provide feedback on the forums will be happy - you have no way of knowing what they think? It's the fact that anyone playing senses that even with a F2P model you only keep players with a good game experience - which the lack of new content is making impossible. I love this game, despite it's flaws, but I cannot agree that most people will be happy with one or two changes over a year's time. Things were looking good with the Comic Series - probably the single best thing they did for feel and content at the same time, and it went about like I expected, a couple of rounds of it then *poof*. If folks should be mad and pushing for anything it is this - vehicles were picked up on as an effort and pushed to get lockbox buyers for some insane reason when everyone wants costume parts, devices, AF's and good gear.
Face it, CO is on life support currently, until some bacon-jerky chomping PWE executive wonk in Shanghai decides that because NWN has an initial surge that CO's just taking up space on the servers and issues a termination date. I will miss this game forever - better make some good screen-caps to remember your toons by one day.
Face it, CO is on life support currently, until some bacon-jerky chomping PWE executive wonk in Shanghai decides that because NWN has an initial surge that CO's just taking up space on the servers and issues a termination date. I will miss this game forever - better make some good screen-caps to remember your toons by one day.
PWE cannot order Cryptic to shutdown CO. Cryptic owns the intellectual property and thus owns the entirety of the game itself. If there is any neglect of CO, it is strictly due to Cryptic. PWE has nothing to do with it.
To everyone saying that the code isn't the same, they should know that for every small or large code update in any of the 3 games, every game has to be updated, whatever or not they receive something from the update, so all the code is there, full on every Cryptic game, it just needs to be hooked up and made available.
Thank you for the answers. This Ask Cryptic told us exactly what we needed to know about the state of development on CO and what we can expect in the future.
Comments
Considering the models were nearly 10 years old at the time of the game closure...
Even then, they weren't that bad.
This is also why you had a plethora of powers to use. As opposed to CO where "Spam one or two powers and keep your energy builder on auto" is more or less the norm.
Something called an "attack chain" rather than "Hold this button down".
"Champions-Online and Star Trek Online contained hundreds of hours of mediocre content!"
and "nothing was polished".
--Jack Emmert
I don't know what's worse, having suddenly, unexpectedly, needlessly lost a game that had amazing development, or finding a new home with wonderful potential that I can clearly watch circling the drain needlessly.
I see a scary future for Superhero MMO's. I hope I'm wrong.
Soon(tm)
Soon(tm)
Soon(tm)
Because we're too lazy to properly fix it.
Soon(tm)
Soon(tm)
Soon(tm)
Soon(tm)
Maybe Soon(tm)
Soon(tm)
Maybe Soon(tm)
Maybe Soon(tm)
Soon(tm)
Soon(tm)
Moar lockboxes Soon(tm)
Maybe Soon(tm)
Soon(tm)
Maybe Soon(tm)
No
No
No
Yes
Maybe Soon(tm)
Maybe Soon(tm) and No
Maybe Soon(tm)
Soon(tm)
Maybe Soon(tm)
Bacon is delicious and the other serious questions were too hard.
This Champions Online is OLD CODE...
SOME room for expansion (vehicles, lockboxes, auras) but still OLD CODE.
STO is BASED off the old code, but was tweaked to fit a FOUNDRY.
NWO has newer code than STO and also has Foundry.
Champions Online-REBORN! (Project X????? If that doesnt sound like it belongs in a comic book...) is the game we love, with the newer, later code base to do newer things and have a FOUNDRY. The review, porting and updating of current assets and the creation of newer ones is slooowly going on behind the scenes. Rejected STO and NWO environs have been slated to be tweaked for CO-R!, you know, for those raised level capped areas.
And hey, spell checking can be time consuming.....
(I'm not sure I should wake up now...this is really pleasant....)
"Few are agreeable in conversation, because each thinks more of what he intends to say than that of what others are saying, and listens no more when he himself has a chance to speak." - Francois de la Rochefoucauld
"Forums are amazing technology. They can take a seemingly normal and
rational person and make them look like a troll. Short-sighted, misguided, creative effort deprived. Incredible." - Snarlygribbly
Champions Online: Coming Soon (TM)!
You mad bro?
Mechanon
"Someone has to stand up for those who can't"
- Unknown Hero
Red Klaw - Private Detective and Well Read Thug.
Silver Valor - Wyldfire agent and scientist at large
From that 2011 Ask Cryptic:
..........
Q: Mothers_Love: Do you see a Champions-Online MMO eventually including more locales from the IP as full-zones?. I?m talking Shamballah, Well of the Worlds, Arcadia; the City of gold and Atlantis in-particular.
A: There is a lot from the IP that we want to be able to bring to you. As far as content goes, we want to be able to take you to a variety of locations and provide a story that is fun and compelling. Full Content Zones of IP locations is a bit of a stretch in this year and is not on the current 2011 release schedule. We are focusing on bringing you the Comic Series and some other really cool content that will surely make you feel heroic. I am going to be a little vague on that last bit for now. Discussion for a new zone could start later this year but I will say again I would rather get an endgame system and zone in before a new Content Zone.
........
And how is that endgame system and zone coming along nearly two years later?....
Oh thats right, everything is thrown out along with the kitchen sink everytime a new EP comes on-board isn't it.
How are you ever... ever going to make any progress whatsoever, if the studio does not have a development plan and stick to it?.
Dropping my knitting to buff you whilst hitting - Proudly protecting Millennium City's little ones since 2009.
@Mothers_Love
I didn't actually expect my questions to get picked after I insulted that one generic half naked clown nemesis.... Can't say I'm surprised by this answer, but the paraphrase wasn't exactly what I meant. For the second half, my thoughts were more along the line of 'Why do we constantly see the generics when almost everyone in the alert has a nemesis?'. And I didn't want them restricted to 25+, I'd just like to see more player-created Nemeses instead of generics. I'd also like to clarify that they're not all ugly. I do like the appearance of that one grey woman who wears orange-ish Mystic costume pieces. But the whole 'completely random nonsensical name + minions + powerset makes them less appealing than they would be if those details were locked in. Like I said in the Ask Cryptic thread, a giant male robot with cowboy minions, infernal powers, a floor length skirt and the name 'Lilith' makes no sense.
I'm somewhat disappointed several of the answers were along the lines of 'We don't currently have plans for that', but I'm a bit relieved that we're actually being spoken to again.
And I appear to have made another wall of text. I do need to stop doing that....
I mean, there's plenty of material here to throw stones about - why go dragging something in out of left field?
- David Brin, "Those Eyes"
Get the Forums Enhancement Extension!
Land Vehicles? Ever gonna happen? Things with wheels are in high demand.
We are planning to do land vehicles as part of an upcoming story arc.
They need to be Vehicle Travel Powers.
Is the MegaD event and the backups eventually coming back?
Yes!
We already know this. A wasted question.
Will we ever see the return of past Events such as the Nighthawk event as cycling events such as the Blood Moon event were?
You?re in luck. We?re planning to bring back certain ?one-time content? events (such as Nighthawk) as recurring features. We?re not ready to talk about specifics yet, but we don?t want scheduled events to vanish forever when they end.
We already know this. A wasted question.
Have you considered integration between the web-based community and the in-game community by showcasing things either on the launcher, or perhaps adding in-game system notifications regarding articles/press?
That is a very cool idea that we will look into.
The Referral Program would be a great start.
What's going on with the Foundry?
We would really love to add the Foundry to CO, but it?s a very large undertaking and we?re still figuring out if/how we could do it.
Is the CO interface that messed up that you can't add a menu to it? What is so hard about starting somewhere?
May we have some Vehicle vs Vehicle team battlegrounds?
Cool idea, added to our list. We hadn?t previously considered it, but we?ll give it some thought.
You forgot about vehicle PvP already? You were the ones who suggested vehicle PvP maps.
Have vehicles reached their final stage or there are further plans for them?
We will be adding new vehicles as time goes on, and you will also see vehicle systems of higher rank.
This BETTER NOT make the current 8 slot vehicles obsolete. The ones people gambled hundreds of dollars for?
When will CO get vehicles that look like they belong in CO and are more stylized versions of more mundane vehicles like motorcycles, Viper Quads, and such?
We?re going to add a variety of vehicle types, so you will be able to choose one that fits in with the aesthetic / backstory of your character.
As long as they don't follow the theme of these bulky buildings with jets attached.
Is there a chance to re allow the hood from the nighthawk set to be used by ALL types of heads?
We will look into this and see if it?s possible.
It is possible. We know it is. Unless you are suggesting that a head piece slider (hair/hood) can be added to the tailor.
Can you please fix the random powersets for the FAKE nemesis(s), they all come up as scourge.
We?ll put it on the list of things to look into.
Are there any plans to put the various Nemesis Villains(Black Scorpion, Crucible, Greyskull, Gargoyle, Morticus, and so on) into the Nemesis Missions to replace the Generic Nemesis(Lilith, Deathmetal) for people who are under LvL 25 since Generic Nemesis are ALL Infernal and ugly? If no, then are there plans to LvL Restrict Nemesis Alerts so 25+? If not, why?
We don?t currently have any plans to change the Nemesis Alerts.
Those two answers contradict each other. Me thinks that whoever answered these is unaware that both of those questions are about the same thing.
Will the nemesis creator be updated with the Earth and Wind Power sets?
We?re not currently planning to expand the Nemesis Creator.
This doesn't mean that the Nemesis system isn't being expanded, right?
Can the old Grab Bags (The Mountain Grab Bag, The Cursed Grab Bag, and the Drifter Salvage Box) be put into the Questionite Store alongside the Nighthawk Grab Bag (aka the Utility belt)?
We?re not opposed to it, but updating old items isn?t a priority for us right now.
Taking the individual drop items and adding them to a vendor shouldn't take more than a couple days. At worse, just add the grab bag themselves to the Questionite store list like you did the Becomes.
I still give Cryptic 3 months after NWO goes live to decide if I quit waiting for new content.
We'll look at it AFTER a completely cosmetic fix that will not make any of the actual gameplay. Why?! we can put them in lockboxes.
WHAT the **** is THIS then?!
Dont lie. You put Nutella on those
Zombehs and they killed Forrest. This thread is dangerous :O
Nepht and Dr Deflecto on primus
They all thought I was out of the game....But I'm holding all the lockboxes now..
I'll......FOAM FINGER YOUR BACK!
We are planning to do land vehicles as part of an upcoming story arc."
First off, Devs n Folks at Cryptic..Thanks for giving us this opportunity to be heard. And thanks for picking and answering my question (Quoted above)!!
This answer has me very excited, as well as a lot of our other gamers I'm sure. I can't wait to see what arc these vehicles roll out with. No pun intended.
Though, there's one thing I was hoping to see answered that wasn't..And that's possible vehicle cosmetic customization.
I remember awhile back, the tailor on the PTS had this glitch where the bike would show up with your character while tailoring, and we could change the colors.
PLEEASSEE bring this back, tweak it, make it an actual feature for all vehicles?!
You would not only make me a very happy man, but would bring a lot of the excitement that we initially had about vehicles back.
Another thing..PVP Acclaim awards was overlooked, as well as power sets, and many other key questions. Questions about the state of the game's future in particular. TTurtle, Devs, ppl at PWE...You guys need to put your heads together and think of a way to reassure your playerbase if you plan on keeping us around for anything other than funding Neverwinter and STO. While some of the answers are exciting, we need some more concrete evidence to show that our subs aren't going to waste. Like others have mentioned...Last year's "Ask Cryptic" Was much more thorough. And didn't waste questions on bacon!
I'm trusting that you all will take the time to read these responses and figure out how to save this amazing game.
:biggrin:
Thanks again!
The Champions Online CODEBASE is not the same thing as the Champions Online DATA SET.
The code makes it look pretty and lets you have powers and actions and interactions and communicates with your client. The DATA SET gives you environments, appearances, selection of powers, etc. etc.
Star Trek Online has a LATER version of the CODEBASE than Champions Online, and NeverWinter Nights has an even later version than that... As Is Expected, because nobody wants to put out a game that has an engine that is less useful than the ones in the competition.
The DATA SET of art, scripts, maps, decor, everything that makes the world unique, is what has to be made accessible through the separate code module that constitutes a Foundry. The STO data set is configured to allow that. The Champions Online one? I suspect not so much, and going through it, selecting the usable parts, configuring it for the Foundry code, figuring out how to make scripting available for the players, all is harder because the work hasn't been done. It took the developers working on City of Heroes six months and change to pull it off and even then it took three more months to get it into play. So making a howling fuss over the Foundry being investigated for how much time and work it would take is rather short-sighted.
As for what I find to be the real problem, and the thing that was ignored in the questions, even though it definitely reads to how much a company is committed to its product and its ongoing support: The number of developers assigned.
It appears, from the rates of development, that there are CURRENTLY on Champions Online, (1) no engine developers since the graphical-interface memory leaks which were present in Beta remain there still, (2) one powers developer, allocated to the current apparent profit generator (vehicles via lockboxes), (3) one or two artists, and (4) one dedicated or maybe half-time shared writer, and a small budget for voice actors and music when they are ready to release a new content piece.
And Trail Turtle, who is a marvelous and useful creature who makes a difference in keeping us from being totally in the dark but who is not a developer in the traditional sense.
(I say apparent profit generator because I believe based on informal chat with other players that the purchase of keys using cash has dropped sharply, and continues to drop.)
As an 'original beta' lifetimer, as well as a City of Heroes alum from June 2004 continuous until they pulled the servers, I am forced to say that this has not been unexpected. Game companies don't generally 'get' sustaining - World of ******** aside - and Cryptic in specific, even though it's been through at least four new "masters" and has had probably two changes of overall management, has still demonstrated a deep and abiding fear of hiring sustaining people to keep developing on the existing, in-place stuff.
And when they do, they tend to pull them off to "the next thing" when the next thing gets behind schedule and runs into production glitches. This is not a sign of coherent software development; if anything it reeks of marketing-driven confusion rather than market-driven excellence.
The current buzz phrase is "do not sell a product. Instead delight the customer continually."
I've been delighted once or twice, but lately the "sell a product" focus has been so pervasive and insistent that I decided to stop buying lockbox keys in protest - because they're a dollar apiece and what comes out isn't really WORTH a dollar, except when one is excessively lucky. I confess to having been excessively lucky TWICE on the lockboxes, but never in the "boss battles" over the time I've played.
And a final chastisement - I still see one or two bugs that I recall reporting in the beta test. That's probably never going to change; some bugs aren't worth the time to track down. But it's still annoying because finding and fixing such bugs, under the supervision of a more experienced designer, is how one learns an unfamiliar piece of software when one is sustaining it. That's why I know there's nobody doing that job as such.
ETA: Really, PWE and Cryptic? Censoring the name of the competition? That's hilarious.
From what I hear, it's been like that for quite some time.
The writing is on the wall and has been for a long time.
While the nemesis information is disheartening and we're getting More lockboxes
And hey to all those that were gripping about not getting content, it might not be a new zone, but at least we're getting some stories. and that picture LordGar posted has me intrigued, and no not the bacon jerky, that stuff is tasty btw. What was under it. could it be Mechanon is finally going to be revealed after all those hints from the book in Ren Cen to the possessed ATM in Westside? or could it be a hint at the Star Guard making its appearance after shooting down that Roin'Esh ship in White Out...could it possibly be Roin'Esh are going to take another run at Millenium City? Log in to find out, Soon(tm). :eek: :biggrin: :cool:
They said the same thing in the State of the Game in August.
If you are not completely COMPLETELY green, you know this is yet another blow off.
TELEPATHY HAS A WELL DOCUMENTED HISTORY
It's not coming, and neither is the Hold Review
Hmmmmm
I asked Dr Cerebellum about this and showed her the pic, it seems to have given her flashbacks from the time her experimental rocketship was shot down on...... [static] ....where her life, though not her body, was saved by a.... [static] ...resulting in the volterrific superhero we all know and love today. The good doc has since been on the line with her sister... [static] ...all morning and mentioned something about needing to fortify the.. [static].. further. What the.. [static] .. my signal is being intercepted. Defender if you are reading this call.... [static].. grey.. [static] ..Pipistrelle.. [signal lost]
While she has been rescued
what diabolical mastermind
was behind the devious brain-napping of
the Volterrific Dr Cerebellum?
Ya a bit lol. Been playing almost 4 years was a subscriber now a lifetimer and dont want to add up how much actual money i have dumped in this game just to have one of my favorite parts **** on more and more with every new dev team. So a bit of anger in this situation I think is justified but hey that's only my opinion and i'll probably get another juvenile response just for stating it.
I am totally shocked!
Not.
I thought we got some great insight into what we can expect from CO this year.
I am super excited about the upcoming Aura system! And I bet 95% of those people who actually play the game and not the forums will love what CO brings us this year.
I want Kirby dots! And a quadbike!
I would like to see a general Energy Projector powerset, as that's perhaps the second or third most common trope in comics, but nobody ever promised it to me, so...
- David Brin, "Those Eyes"
Get the Forums Enhancement Extension!
MORE VEHICLES!!!!!
SOOOO EXCITED ABOUT IT!!!
And thanks for leaving the Nemesis System to way it is. Who needs nemeses anyway when you can have Vehicles!!!!!!
*uck *uo, Cryptic and PW. *uck *uo.
Thanks.
And playing by myself since Aug 2009
Godtier: Lifetime Subscriber
Would have liked more substantial, paid content not related to vehicles or lockboxes or vehicles in lockboxes, but can't complain if the new arcs and villain contest alerts are free.
Some of us "bitter old timers" like to have our feet firmly placed on the ground and not wear rose-colored glasses all of the time.
Since we're throwing labels around, I have a fitting one for you. I'll refrain from using it but I'm sure you know what it is.
To be fair, apart from all the "maybe" and "soon" ambiguous answers, I'm happy to hear that they're adding auras sometime this year if they keep to their promise.
Make that each year. They just did the 2013.
And playing by myself since Aug 2009
Godtier: Lifetime Subscriber
Most mmos get new additions every few months...
Make sure you save this post or something. Now because of the confirmed Q&A of what he said he does plan on getting to us, and if one more year goes by without any or missing most of this promised list, then either Cryptic is behind in the CO team staff department, or it's all bark and gruff.
However, if they manage to do #1, #2, and number #8, I'll be impressed.
Caliga's PRIMUS Database! --XXX--The Caliga Build: Threatening Haymakers! --XXX-- Caliga and Conquer fanart!
If they are serious about revenue, they would add Costume Packs, premium power sets, and new travel powers. I'm going to assume that these 3 would be CO's biggest money makers back in it's prime.
Caliga's PRIMUS Database! --XXX--The Caliga Build: Threatening Haymakers! --XXX-- Caliga and Conquer fanart!
Too bad I couldn't ask about the lost costume and weapon unlocks again.
Hum.... it seems 2013 will be an another year with almost no content or substance...
Some 5 mns missions as the last event, lockboxes, vehicules and auras or every other fluff they can sell, but nothing which can give us new things to do or up the gameplay.
(alerts? they can't raise the level. New maps or new level 40 lairs? Questions are evaded but don't worry,"we will have some 5 mns story arcs").
Ok.
I find very funny to read the sidekick to lvl40 was a problem in alerts.
Who has developped City of heroes which hadn't any problem with sidekick ? Is it the actual Cryptic team or those who knows do that, was in paragon ?
This Ask Cryptic don't please me, the game seems almost in maintenance mode for 2013 too, as it was for 2012. But i'm not surprised.
So it wont end up in same condition likes of Nemesis Creator, FUBAR.
Thanks.
And playing by myself since Aug 2009
Godtier: Lifetime Subscriber
Also...I'm guessing the art team isn't free yet?
Patient Ling is getting less patient.
Deliciously nutritious!
Everything is either a "maybe soon" or just a flat out "No".
This is what happens when a development group takes on more than they can handle, accepting a third MMO when the first two were in dire need of updates was a huge mistake, and is clearly showing. Not to mention this third MMO is another typical run of the mill dungeons and dragons fantasy game, when the other two are rare breeds genre-wise.
Still... I'd rather have little to no content updates than lock boxes and microtransactions with insulting prices, you can thank both PWE and Cryptic for that!
The real problem is that apparently the old systems (crafting, PvP, Nemesis, alerts) will not be revisited. This would explain why Telepathy is pushed back. Powersets will be left there with no development planned at all, no new powers, no major reviews on them.
Just slow progress on the latest system (vehicles) and short storyline content (which I love). Since they really believe in vehicles I hope they do finish them! I do not care about them, but ok, having a fully fleshed out system is appreciated.
Love the idea of auras, if that means a well thought system that works
Love the idea of new short story arcs. I wish they write the new arcs more coherently than the Lemurian invasion "story arc". Coherency is severly lacking right now: it started with the archeologist, which was completely forgotten. Julie Morgan investigates and got her cellphone taken away, but puts Until on alert. You collect info on the planned attack on Until but when they invade the vault Until is taken by surprise... I guess they attack the vault to get the Kraken summoning device, you stop them, but they still get it (at least make a cutscene where one escapes with the statue before you enter...).
My Characters
Caliga's PRIMUS Database! --XXX--The Caliga Build: Threatening Haymakers! --XXX-- Caliga and Conquer fanart!
You must be kidding - we *might* get Aura's, forget telepathy. How you can say 95% of the people who play the game who don't provide feedback on the forums will be happy - you have no way of knowing what they think? It's the fact that anyone playing senses that even with a F2P model you only keep players with a good game experience - which the lack of new content is making impossible. I love this game, despite it's flaws, but I cannot agree that most people will be happy with one or two changes over a year's time. Things were looking good with the Comic Series - probably the single best thing they did for feel and content at the same time, and it went about like I expected, a couple of rounds of it then *poof*. If folks should be mad and pushing for anything it is this - vehicles were picked up on as an effort and pushed to get lockbox buyers for some insane reason when everyone wants costume parts, devices, AF's and good gear.
Face it, CO is on life support currently, until some bacon-jerky chomping PWE executive wonk in Shanghai decides that because NWN has an initial surge that CO's just taking up space on the servers and issues a termination date. I will miss this game forever - better make some good screen-caps to remember your toons by one day.
PWE cannot order Cryptic to shutdown CO. Cryptic owns the intellectual property and thus owns the entirety of the game itself. If there is any neglect of CO, it is strictly due to Cryptic. PWE has nothing to do with it.
Caliga's PRIMUS Database! --XXX--The Caliga Build: Threatening Haymakers! --XXX-- Caliga and Conquer fanart!
I like cats :cool:.
UGC Campaign: The Coldblooded Scrolls
My Amazon author page
How to build a freeform character...the Kenpo way
Demon Keypo's Building Guide
Freeform Builds Directory (Last updated: 04/23/2016)
Serving since September, 2009 / 65 Characters, 63 Level 40's