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Lamest-Looking Organization
cybersoldier1981
Posts: 2,501 Arc User
OK, so... I've been doing some work, kicking around another thread where I'm encouraging players to redesign several mobs, and it gave me an idea to do this one...
Two of the West Side gangs got re-done (Purple Gang and Maniacs), which is great. Most of them have been drastically improved for the better, and the older versions looked like poopoo.
So, now- what organization in Champions Online do you think needs a revamp? Discuss this openly, and feel free to post your ideas for changes in here if you want to share an image. Otherwise, speak on it. Cryptic North, for all we know, could get bored and make it happen.
First- I think the Cult of the Red Banner needs an overhaul. I understand we're playing on the martial arts movie stereotype, but I think they could be touched up a lot. They aren't entirely boring, mind you- but I think it would be fun to add an element of urban life into them so they don't look like so much of an out-of-place relic in West Side.
Secondly, and most importantly- Dear God, Argent's look is awful. When I'm out laying down the slaughter, I honestly feel guilty seeing these guys die dressed like this- but I have to tell myself I'm making the pain and shame all go away. I mean, these guys are like corporate military-grade security and then some... why do they look like something out of a bad science fiction made-for-tv movie from the 1970's? It's terrible. I even get the color scheme, but at least don't make these guys look like asshats.
Two of the West Side gangs got re-done (Purple Gang and Maniacs), which is great. Most of them have been drastically improved for the better, and the older versions looked like poopoo.
So, now- what organization in Champions Online do you think needs a revamp? Discuss this openly, and feel free to post your ideas for changes in here if you want to share an image. Otherwise, speak on it. Cryptic North, for all we know, could get bored and make it happen.
First- I think the Cult of the Red Banner needs an overhaul. I understand we're playing on the martial arts movie stereotype, but I think they could be touched up a lot. They aren't entirely boring, mind you- but I think it would be fun to add an element of urban life into them so they don't look like so much of an out-of-place relic in West Side.
Secondly, and most importantly- Dear God, Argent's look is awful. When I'm out laying down the slaughter, I honestly feel guilty seeing these guys die dressed like this- but I have to tell myself I'm making the pain and shame all go away. I mean, these guys are like corporate military-grade security and then some... why do they look like something out of a bad science fiction made-for-tv movie from the 1970's? It's terrible. I even get the color scheme, but at least don't make these guys look like asshats.
Post edited by cybersoldier1981 on
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Give them guns with John Woo moves to go along with their flying kicks.
Maybe have a few ninja types use stealth and come from the shadows when you slam a loitering wizard.
But more like 70s spies than fruit of the loom cartoon dudes.
Wizards could totally stay weird looking.
Maybe thugs dress in a moddish looking all black suit with a red band on their arm or around their hat.
Nothing like the crimson spandex some of them wear now.
More like Black Dynamite than his foe in the second picture.
Here you go only $20.30 on e-bay Noodle Serving Ninja Wear. Subtle.
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Less bright colors, more darkness.
Maybe more alien looking than human.
More terrorfying than the average Tutorial girl.
Some of the street cultists should do a Mormon door knocker look with sunglasses and tiny horns and long fingernails.
I always thought they should look normal and transform when you encounter them.
Wings and horns could appear their eyes could go red and they could exhale some strange stuff from their exhale holes.
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I think they fit in a game like this, because this game is kinda cheesy at times. :biggrin: And we already have guys in suits, sunglasses n stuff and it's Purple Gang.
I think their faces are terrifying, but maybe some changes could be in order :biggrin: I agree making em more darker.
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Black Aces look good imo, but they need to be included in more stuff. They are a joke and can't be taken seriously as an evil organization, they don't threaten the world or hold Mayor as hostage, ever. They are not in any alerts because there are no huge Black Aces bad guys out there.
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The one 'boss' they have is Ludwig, and he's a Qulaar. Who really doesn't like his minions.
Deliciously nutritious!
I met one of your 'Harolds of Caliga'. It was interesting.
Same goes for DEMON, they should have Gothic Punk or urban fantasy look. Black suits, sunglasses, etc.
VIPER looks great but they could use various camo patterns - a winter one in Canada, a desert one in the Desert. Also, their agents in MC should have civilian clothes, not running like idiots in full VIPER panoply and nobody cares.
ARGENT could look more like corporate guards/private security forces. At least those of them who are on the streets - those could have SWAT-like uniforms.
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'Wen considered the nature of time and understood that the universe is, instant by instant, recreated anew. Therefore, he understood, there is in truth no past, only a memory of the past. Blink your eyes, and the world you see next did not exist when you closed them. Therefore, he said, the only appropriate state of the mind is surprise. The only appropriate state of the heart is joy. The sky you see now, you have never seen before. The perfect moment is now. Be glad of it.' Terry Pratchet The Thief Of Time
I agree. The Red Banner could use more tights with martial arts embellishments.
And Argent would look great in tights with tech embellishments.
Man, remember when comic books used tights? Those were the days.
Long live PSI!
That's what I was going to say. There's already an avenue for people who want to beat regular street toughs. Turning the Red Banner into plain old thugs is a bit of a waste. The whole Big Trouble in Little China vibe gets lost. Right now they're different. Turning them into a redundant street gang is just overkill.
That would mean wholesale changes. Like getting rid of Foxbat entirely. The whole robot cowboy amusement park, gone. Grond turned into something else with completely redone script. All semblance of any type of silver age comic book feel would need to be replaced. To make this game more EXTREME! Rob Liefeld style. With pouches. And street gangs. And pouches.
Seems legit?
Viper's far too cheesy. They'd need to embrace their snake style heritage. Maybe some emo-gothy vibe with a little house Slitherin mixed in. To update it for the new fans. amirite? Got to keep it dark, serious and filled with angst. Or else it's not a comic book!
Sarcasm. That's original.
Back on topic, I agree with the OP up to a certain extend. Some of the organizations could use an overhaul, which does not mean that their whole style has to be thrown out of the window. Take the New Purple Gang (and the Maniacs and the Black Aces) for example. Now after their redesign they undoubtedly look better, one might say more realistic without losing their distinctive style. Who says the same cant be done for other organizations too (ARGENT, DEMON, PSI, etc.)? It was nowhere implied that every mob in the game should be dressed in black SWAT gear from now on.
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I don't want them turned into the Triadkuza. I think modernizing them a little, maybe like- I dunno- an urban version of the Hand.
These are keepers for me, for sure.
There is far more to comics than 'Rob Liefeld' and 'Silver Age'. It kind of shows a lack of comics knowledge to think that 'I don't like the Silver Age' means 'I LIKE POUCHES AND EPIC GUNZ AND KILLING AND ROB LIEFELD AND NO FEET. There are way more eras in comics, and I highly doubt anyone completely tuned out the 90's era in comics.
The fact that so many people cling to the Silver Age as if it were the greatest age in comics (It wasn't) is kind of sad. Look into the Bronze Age, where people had a variety of costumes.
I've read the Silver Age. As I recall, no one died- which doesn't mean ZOMG I WANNA HAVE ANTIHEROES THAT KILL EVERYONE. No, it means no one died and death could never be a real threat to those around the heroes. Villains were just plain stupid, with no real motivation whatsoever that could make you understand them.
I know that when the Silver Age ENDED, comics got better. All because they dropped the Comics Code- which was designed to keep you from being gay.
Actually, I think they're the coolest group in the game, minus their Lemon-Lime color pattern... and the Scarlet Serpent Initiates aren't even red. Apparently, the Supreme Serpent sat down with Emperor Palpatine at the 'screw tactical colors' convention and drew inspiration.
Completely subjective.
And saying that you have to look to the Bronze Age (which I like, mind you) to see a variety in costumes is silly. There's a ton of variation in costumes in Spider-Man's rogue's gallery alone.
The fact that so many people cling to the Silver Age is because so many people enjoyed the Silver Age. There's nothing sad about it. Just because you think the only way to threaten someone is with death doesn't mean that that's the only way to make anything dramatic. I enjoy Silver Age more than any other comic age. I like Bronze. Detest "modern" and "iron" age. And whatever age we're in now (let's call it the "artist showcase" age or the "all that meat and no potatoes" age) completely sucks. I grew up with comics in the mid 80s through the 90s, but I stick with Silver Age because those are actually entertaining to me.
I'd love to get into the costume files for the NPCs in this game and give the entire thing a nice Silver Age feel. The game might actually feel like a comic book game instead of Saint's Row with super powers or somecrap.
Actually the Lemon-Lime color is to inspire fear and dread and... Uh...
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And see that 'entire thing' part is the only think I'll stop you with. If this 'entire game' was just a Silver Age setting, I'd simply walk away from it. It doesn't appeal to everyone. Actually, it gets an eyeroll from most comic readers these days how cheesy things look. It might me nostalgic, but it went away for a reason- and I highly doubt it was anything sinister and had more to do with keeping up with the times. Tights and all are fine on super heroes- but I don't want an entire Silver Age setting-
But most definately keep some elements of it, elements of all comics. The only thing that Irks me when people ask for changes to Champs is when it's completely non-comic, like Anime. Sorry, plenty of Anime/manga settings.
ALSO:
My retake on the Scarlet Serpent Initiate:
Heavily inspired by, well, Viper. And I figured they'd be more Elite and have a bit of a Regal look to them. If there was a cape for one shoulder, I'd throw that on them. I always kind of thought of them like Cobra's Crimson Guard- the best of the best. Admittedly, I don't get too far into Champ's Lore to know much about Viper.
Argent Trooper:
Because, I'm sorry- Argent guys look like something out of a bad Flash Gordon comic.
Argent Cyborg:
Just kinda beefed it up a little and threw the Cybot mask on him.
Can't please everyone all the time. For instance, I'm not pleased with the majority of NPCs/enemy organizations in this game.
All statements are presumed hyperbole until proven otherwise in a court of law. Bad boys, bad boys, whatcha gon' do?
Nothing nostalgic about superheroes in tights. Plenty of superheroes are still proudly prancing in their snappy spandex.
Agreed.
Too busy for my tastes.
Give him about 50 pounds more muscle and you'll make Liefeld proud. :biggrin:
I'd go a lot less armor and a lot more buffed up wired thing. Maybe I'll try my hand at redoing some of these guys. But I'll start with Red Banner! And if I ever have the time to!
I wanted the Argent guy to keep his colors (As close as I can recall) and still come off like a Private Security goon. The Cyborg I'm still not happy with, but I think if I mess around, I can get something crazy. I almost thought about making it freakishly mechanical and barely-human.
I have a thread dedicated to reboots already. I highly, HIGHLY encourage you to participate. I'm trying to see if we can push someone in the dev department to maybe swap out a few of the older goons based on what we create here. I doubt it will happen, but it'd still be fun to have a forum contest. Here's the link:
http://co-forum.perfectworld.com/showthread.php?t=226651
I like you, Biff. I'd let you and Trailturtle come over to my house and poop with the door open and drink whiskey with me.
Oh, look, another person who can view things only in extremes: silver age mediocrity vs iron age mediocrity. How... Original.
Or maybe the game could look just modern, not full of idiotic cheese, shoting itself in the foot and being completely unattractive for majority of moder audience?
Not grim and gritty, but just more like cool game, not a toy story? No, wait, even Pixar stories have at least more serious writing.
CO current stylisation isn't even real comic book, or even really like any Silver Age comic book. It looks like a bunch of poorly made action figures, like those cheaply manufactured made in China knock-offs of popular franchises. Aesthetic fail.
And maybe with less cheese this game could be shown to more people. Better than being always closed in its own laughable niche.
Also: Foxbat is part of original Champions IP, Grond is part of original Champions IP. The same IP isn't always that laughable and has a bit more serious tone, it's only Cryptic who decided to make Champions Online with this amount of bad forced humor, pop culture references and cheap plastic.
Most people today doesn't remember this film referenced in Red Banner and it's barely that needed in the game. Maybe CO should make more use of its own IP, instead of forced jokes?
This game stylisation is one of its biggest failures. It's as idiotic as Liefield comic books, only in a different way.
Careful what you wish for, I'll drink you broke! :biggrin:
YES! :biggrin:
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....ahem, I think you were referring to MEDUSA.
She is fat, bald and hella fugly and she wears a bad costume lol.
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PSI is the last bastion of bad dudes in tights. So stuff you!
Pfft. They're not bad dudes. They have yet to rescue a president that has nothing to do with their organization.
As for lame-looking organizations, I still say the Hunter-Patriots look like total hosers.
It's REALLY tough to make someone look badass when they use same color palette as the Star Sapphires. Then when you realize they both fight with pink colored constructs...
One word. Mentella.
She has the same colour palette as PSI just redesigned in some instances.
Perhaps a unifying pattern on all PSI costumes would be good though. But Biff is right, PSI are badass. (now if only they didn't rely on Psi Lash as main DPS source :P)
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And though I would never call them 'lame' (seriously, they're my favorite group), it always seemed a bit odd to me that several Qliphothic Horrors are basically Trey Kings with some vines attached.
I agree with you. I just ran some of the Millenium City Mind Inc., arcs thought " wow these costumes are dated." I was thinking a red and black uniform, with the Psi logo on the belt. They also need female members.
But in general the game's character designs are too dated. While I know they wanted to keep true to the old Champions Lore -- a costume design reboot is long overdue.
I think that the Trey Kings thing probably makes sense when compared to the other VB gangs. Each received an unholy transformation and it looks like the Trey Kings got a touch of Qlipothic horror given to them.
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'Wen considered the nature of time and understood that the universe is, instant by instant, recreated anew. Therefore, he understood, there is in truth no past, only a memory of the past. Blink your eyes, and the world you see next did not exist when you closed them. Therefore, he said, the only appropriate state of the mind is surprise. The only appropriate state of the heart is joy. The sky you see now, you have never seen before. The perfect moment is now. Be glad of it.' Terry Pratchet The Thief Of Time
5. Cobra Lords. As the most normal gang in West Side, these guys were unfortunate enough to not really get a visual update. Their general style should be kept the same; we need some good old bikers to beat up, but their dress style could be a lot more... Well, bikery.
4. DEMON. Many people have voiced grievance about these guys. I'm almost inclined to agree, but, much like the Cobra Lords, I really think the same general style should be kept - and it shouldn't be too hard, because a wizard costume set was (comparatively) recently released.
3. Lemurian Rebels. These guys are very easy to overlook, because they only appear in lemuria. I'm not talking about the Lemurians on Monster Island, either - these guys are goofy looking, finned fish/frog people of all kinds of cartoony green and blue shades. They honestly don't look quite streamlined enough to properly look like an adapted underwater creature.
2. Fire/Ice Demons. Especially against the later demons that Cryptic's churned out, these guys look downright cuddly. They got some neat unique parts to them, but I think the big problem with them is that they still look way too human, particularly on the body shape/design... Actually, if you were to take some influence from other skeletons you made...
1. PSI. Nothing's threatening about these guys' appearance - which is unfortunate, because they're the one enemy type that changes appearance when you enter battle with them. The pink street clothes outfits don't really help out, either - those could also use an update... With a civillian costume set, eh?... EH?... :biggrin: