Still just spitballing, but my brain is trying to associate this with parts of the old PnP Champs creation...the "hunted by..." disadvantage kind of thing. These support characters maybe having different reactions to you based on your interactions with them (say, do a mission or favor for them, and they react more favorably to you).
Still just spitballing, but my brain is trying to associate this with parts of the old PnP Champs creation...the "hunted by..." disadvantage kind of thing. These support characters maybe having different reactions to you based on your interactions with them (say, do a mission or favor for them, and they react more favorably to you).
But that may be overcomplicating things.
I wish more things were done to match the PnP from the begining.
Not sure if the "hunted by" disadvantage would be best served in this idea. That's probably better served by the Nemesis system (but better than it is now). I can, however, see the "dependent NPC" disadvantage being associated in this.....perhaps every now and then you will have to help them or save them in a mission to keep them in your contacts list and acruing stuff for you in-game (like the duty officers do in STO). Until you actually do the mission and succeed then perhaps they stop helping you in the mean-time.
And. of course, in the PnP you can actually buy contacts so that is reflected in this idea.
Oh, I didn't mean the "hunted by.." specifically, just that category from there that can affect whether or not there's someone who's "friends" or "enemies" with you. I just don't quite know how to express it in Champs PnP terms because it's been thirty years and I was more a Villains and Vigilantes guy anyway.
What I like that no one mentions is being able to pay a small fee or no fee on renaming Nemesis.
Who has once accidently screwed up there perfect Nemesis name and have to go through days or weeks to jail the nemesis and start it over? Or when you was once new you had nothing but made generic names and just learned to make up new names and fix them without having to Jail them.
It's a pain in the butt.
"I'll never look back I've got no regrets Cause time doesn't wait for me I choose to go my own way."
Hmm so would these be mission giver NPCs or something else?
The contacts could be put to work to earn you things in-game similar to how the duty officers in STO are, but obviously redesigned for CO and the comic-book genre. Perhaps there could intially be a mission chain to unlock each one before they become your official contacts.
For example, for the Detective you could track down a villain for him leading up to him teaming up with you on the last mission in the chain to arrest the big baddie. After the mission chain he is then unlocked as a contact and enters into your contacts system to start earning you stuff.
As we have such great customisation of characters here, their looks and names would also be customisable, like our Nemeses (perhaps there could be a generic look to choose from for those who don't want to bother with this part).
It's just an idea.
DoFFing is one of my favorite parts of STO and I would love to see a similar system implemented in CO.
you could even add Contact cards (working the same as DoFF cards) as rewards for mission chains, thus revitalizing the reason to play old content (although those old missions would need to be made repeatable so that characters who have already run them all can get the reward)
Yeah, there's a lot of characters you meet in missions that they could use for this. But for what end? That's a big deal. What will your character gain from collecting the npc cards? The only thing that comes to mind is some sort of superhero themed version of doffing.... Well probably more like admiralty actually since I can't visualize collecting 300+ NPC cards to have as my superhero's minions. Which is pretty much how doffing works. Admiralty doesn't use such a large roster, it's measured in dozens, not hundreds. Also it doesn't have missions that require a specific type of card. Success is based on stat numbers and not whether it has a certain trait.
After thinking about this a while, I'm wondering if a completely different system would work, though it should be noted that what I'm thinking will not be put in this game because it would require too much of a re-write.
The reason? It would require the existing zones, including Millenium City, to be enlarged. (Not gonna happen since they have a 100-player cap usually, as I understand it.)
If the zones were bigger they could be broken up into level-limited subzones (the type where you don't have to zone to go there--same idea as flying a level 6 character too far away from Kodiak in the existing game). Then players could have a choice of whether to go to Canada/Desert or just stay in Millenium City all the way to 40. (Though some do, because they do alerts from levels 10-40 anyway. Also, you can stay in Millenium City past level 15 already, actually; there are arcs where you take on Argent and Psi, eventually rescuing the Mayor's daughter.)
Once this was in place, your completed mission list would be used to calculate how much certain villain groups hate your guts, and on occasion, maybe Kevin Poe would follow you to Canada to get revenge, then all the way to Monster Island, where (in a series of instanced missions) he ends up getting dinosaur DNA and losing himself but not his desire for revenge, creating a team-up opportunity for an Epic Final Battle. Other personal instances could include Poe joining Viper or moving to Vibora Bay and becoming a werewolf that really wants you 'dealt with'.
And it would be different for each player depending on what specific groups they faced while in each zone; some might never encounter Poe after level 10 but get other villains, a sort of "built in" Nemesis system that doesn't require you to actually make a Nemesis...though you could do that too.
Annnnndddd...it would be way way WAY too much work for Cryptic even if they had 300 people on staff just for programming new content. Maybe it could be implemented in Champions Online 2, you know, when that comes out in about 50 years or so.
Still just spitballing, but my brain is trying to associate this with parts of the old PnP Champs creation...the "hunted by..." disadvantage kind of thing. These support characters maybe having different reactions to you based on your interactions with them (say, do a mission or favor for them, and they react more favorably to you).
But that may be overcomplicating things.
And you get to Romance with them later?
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I would rather have had them revamp the Nemesis system and perhaps add a contacts system (similar in function, but not in style, to the duty officer system that STO have that I've read about) instead of the whole vehicle system nonsense.
Sounds good. Read what others have said, so this may not be 100% original, but just throwing some ideas (and a wall of text) out there.
1) Limit the total number of contacts. The idea is to have a system but we don't want to make it feel unnatural for any lone wolf types.
2) Set up the contacts themselves. I can see as few as three or as many as five. Depends on how they want to go with this.
Each type has a few options. Rather than giving them the full customization option, though, I would go with some comic-art style portraits.
- Boyfriend/girlfriend/best friend would have a variety of male and female portraits to choose from. The missions are generally rescuing them from one one hazard or another. Classic DNPC stuff. Big bonus if they can tie these missions into your other choices. If, for example, you choose a mystical contact and Demon as the group you are hunting (more on this later) then it would be nice if your DNPC was threatened by Demon and other mystical villains/groups.
- The criminal contact would not be a contact per se, but would instead reflect an organization that you consider a nemesis of a sort. Pick the Gadroon and you would spend extra time fighting against the Gadroon, pick PSI and you spend extra time fighting PSI, and so on. Think of this as a reverse "hunted by" disadvantage.
- The other three would give you leads on villains/organizations of an appropriate type. If they combine these it would be three contacts. If they allow everyone to pick one of each then it's up to five. I think I would prefer keeping it down to three. Not only prevents over-farming the system but gives each character a little more flavor.
"Street" would be a member of the MCPD, maybe some generic District Attorney, or one of a few types of character that various "street level" heroes might use for a resource. Could even be one of a few "street level" heroes from Champions lore. These would steer you towards "street level" villains and groups. Purple Gang for an easy example.
Mystical would be a character with a supernatural origin that would pit you against the more mystical threats. Witchcraft, Dr. Ka, Robert Caliburn, whoever. Maybe even some generic contacts with whatever flavoring they wanted to use (anything from a classic witch or warlock to a Voodoo Priest(ess) to whatever else they imagine. Demon, Black Paladin, Elder Worms, etc.
Heroic would be a more "classic" hero type and pit you against the more traditional villains or groups. This could include an UNTIL contact or individual heroes from the lore. That doesn't just mean the Champions, though. They could use other heroes from the lore as well as long as they aren't mystical types. They would send you against the likes of Viper or the Ultimates or whatever other traditional villains or groups they want to dig out from the lore.
Yeah, sometimes the line is blurry. Cult of the Red Banner is pretty much street level, but they also have some mystical elements, so they could appear in both "street" and "mystical" missions.
For most missions though, it's really just flavoring. The missions would probably be text only, and I figure that many missions would share the same text other than changing the name of the villain(s)/group responsible for the whole thing.
If the missions could access a hero's nemeses all the better.
And better still if each contact type had a unique ultra-rare mission chain that culminated in (or was made up entirely) of an actual mission.
Super-bonus if they can find a way to use your nemesis/nemeses in that actual mission(s), even if they aren't the big bad.
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In STO they have a lot of different missions to offer, but here I think that each contact should only offer one at a time.
The missions themselves would take some amount of time. Unlike in STO where you are sending someone to handle these missions for you, here they would be things you are doing "off-screen", so if you just spent an hour fighting the Eidolon of Destruction it makes no sense that somehow while doing that you were also foiling a Viper plot.
I am thinking 12 hours and up for the mission durations, maybe even make them a true daily.
There would be different rarities, though. This could affect time, along with offering better rewards for the rarer missions.
The rewards themselves would be the usual, I guess; Influence, mods, gear, devices, maybe even some SCR. Example: Your boyfriend/girlfriend/best friend has been kidnapped by PSI. Seems they might have some super-tiny psychic potential and PSI wants to experiment. This is a 20 hour very rare mission and the reward is a tier 5 mod along with 3 SCR.
You chose to hunt Red Banner. Your mission against them is common and has a 12 hour duration. The reward is 3G.
You went with a "street level" contact. Maybe you chose a cop, maybe a bartender. Whoever. Anyway, they have a lead on the Black Aces smuggling weapons, so you go to check that out. It's an uncommon mission with a 16 hour duration. The reward is a 5 charge device that deals ranged particle damage (one of the weapons).
There would be a success/failure chance, though character level would be the only factor. Again, your hero is the one doing this so success is based on them. There would be a failure chance, though, that would result in reduced (or no) rewards. Maybe 5%? Maybe affected by mission rarity (0/5/10/15% for C/U/R/VR missions)? Don't worry, though, you will still rescue your DNPC. You would just fail to apprehend the criminals in the process.
Finally, these would unlock over time. At level 20 you get one contact (DNPC? Choice?)
At level 30 you get the second contact (Hunting?)
At level 40 you get the final contact.
If you go with 5 contacts then go every five levels... 20, 25, 30, 35, 40. I like the idea of the first two being fixed, though, no matter what.
You get the DNPC first because everyone could have a DNPC at any level.
Then you get the hunting target because, again, anyone could decide to hunt any group. The real issue is making sure that you are strong enough to take them on.
And then at 40 (or 30 if you go with 5 contacts), you have earned enough trust/respect to get the final contact to give you the leads for the missions they give.
What I like that no one mentions is being able to pay a small fee or no fee on renaming Nemesis.
Who has once accidently screwed up there perfect Nemesis name and have to go through days or weeks to jail the nemesis and start it over? Or when you was once new you had nothing but made generic names and just learned to make up new names and fix them without having to Jail them.
It's a pain in the butt.
Absolutely.
And I would also like a "delete nemesis" option for those occasions when a nemesis may no longer fit your vision of the hero.
Of course, a rename token could fix things as well, since you could totally change everything but the villain gender at that point, but if they charge the same Zen for both of these it's the same difference, really.
One just frees up that space in your rogue's gallery.
One other thing that I would like to see, though, is the option to replay the entire nemesis arc with a villain. Even if it cost a few Zen it is something that I would consider.
Comments
But that may be overcomplicating things.
Not sure if the "hunted by" disadvantage would be best served in this idea. That's probably better served by the Nemesis system (but better than it is now). I can, however, see the "dependent NPC" disadvantage being associated in this.....perhaps every now and then you will have to help them or save them in a mission to keep them in your contacts list and acruing stuff for you in-game (like the duty officers do in STO). Until you actually do the mission and succeed then perhaps they stop helping you in the mean-time.
And. of course, in the PnP you can actually buy contacts so that is reflected in this idea.
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Who has once accidently screwed up there perfect Nemesis name and have to go through days or weeks to jail the nemesis and start it over? Or when you was once new you had nothing but made generic names and just learned to make up new names and fix them without having to Jail them.
It's a pain in the butt.
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My characters
The reason? It would require the existing zones, including Millenium City, to be enlarged. (Not gonna happen since they have a 100-player cap usually, as I understand it.)
If the zones were bigger they could be broken up into level-limited subzones (the type where you don't have to zone to go there--same idea as flying a level 6 character too far away from Kodiak in the existing game). Then players could have a choice of whether to go to Canada/Desert or just stay in Millenium City all the way to 40. (Though some do, because they do alerts from levels 10-40 anyway. Also, you can stay in Millenium City past level 15 already, actually; there are arcs where you take on Argent and Psi, eventually rescuing the Mayor's daughter.)
Once this was in place, your completed mission list would be used to calculate how much certain villain groups hate your guts, and on occasion, maybe Kevin Poe would follow you to Canada to get revenge, then all the way to Monster Island, where (in a series of instanced missions) he ends up getting dinosaur DNA and losing himself but not his desire for revenge, creating a team-up opportunity for an Epic Final Battle. Other personal instances could include Poe joining Viper or moving to Vibora Bay and becoming a werewolf that really wants you 'dealt with'.
And it would be different for each player depending on what specific groups they faced while in each zone; some might never encounter Poe after level 10 but get other villains, a sort of "built in" Nemesis system that doesn't require you to actually make a Nemesis...though you could do that too.
Annnnndddd...it would be way way WAY too much work for Cryptic even if they had 300 people on staff just for programming new content. Maybe it could be implemented in Champions Online 2, you know, when that comes out in about 50 years or so.
And playing by myself since Aug 2009
Godtier: Lifetime Subscriber
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
My characters
Read what others have said, so this may not be 100% original, but just throwing some ideas (and a wall of text) out there.
1) Limit the total number of contacts. The idea is to have a system but we don't want to make it feel unnatural for any lone wolf types.
2) Set up the contacts themselves. I can see as few as three or as many as five. Depends on how they want to go with this.
Each type has a few options. Rather than giving them the full customization option, though, I would go with some comic-art style portraits.
- Boyfriend/girlfriend/best friend would have a variety of male and female portraits to choose from.
The missions are generally rescuing them from one one hazard or another. Classic DNPC stuff.
Big bonus if they can tie these missions into your other choices. If, for example, you choose a mystical contact and Demon as the group you are hunting (more on this later) then it would be nice if your DNPC was threatened by Demon and other mystical villains/groups.
- The criminal contact would not be a contact per se, but would instead reflect an organization that you consider a nemesis of a sort. Pick the Gadroon and you would spend extra time fighting against the Gadroon, pick PSI and you spend extra time fighting PSI, and so on.
Think of this as a reverse "hunted by" disadvantage.
- The other three would give you leads on villains/organizations of an appropriate type. If they combine these it would be three contacts. If they allow everyone to pick one of each then it's up to five. I think I would prefer keeping it down to three. Not only prevents over-farming the system but gives each character a little more flavor.
"Street" would be a member of the MCPD, maybe some generic District Attorney, or one of a few types of character that various "street level" heroes might use for a resource. Could even be one of a few "street level" heroes from Champions lore.
These would steer you towards "street level" villains and groups. Purple Gang for an easy example.
Mystical would be a character with a supernatural origin that would pit you against the more mystical threats. Witchcraft, Dr. Ka, Robert Caliburn, whoever. Maybe even some generic contacts with whatever flavoring they wanted to use (anything from a classic witch or warlock to a Voodoo Priest(ess) to whatever else they imagine.
Demon, Black Paladin, Elder Worms, etc.
Heroic would be a more "classic" hero type and pit you against the more traditional villains or groups.
This could include an UNTIL contact or individual heroes from the lore. That doesn't just mean the Champions, though. They could use other heroes from the lore as well as long as they aren't mystical types.
They would send you against the likes of Viper or the Ultimates or whatever other traditional villains or groups they want to dig out from the lore.
Yeah, sometimes the line is blurry. Cult of the Red Banner is pretty much street level, but they also have some mystical elements, so they could appear in both "street" and "mystical" missions.
For most missions though, it's really just flavoring. The missions would probably be text only, and I figure that many missions would share the same text other than changing the name of the villain(s)/group responsible for the whole thing.
If the missions could access a hero's nemeses all the better.
And better still if each contact type had a unique ultra-rare mission chain that culminated in (or was made up entirely) of an actual mission.
Super-bonus if they can find a way to use your nemesis/nemeses in that actual mission(s), even if they aren't the big bad.
=============
In STO they have a lot of different missions to offer, but here I think that each contact should only offer one at a time.
The missions themselves would take some amount of time. Unlike in STO where you are sending someone to handle these missions for you, here they would be things you are doing "off-screen", so if you just spent an hour fighting the Eidolon of Destruction it makes no sense that somehow while doing that you were also foiling a Viper plot.
I am thinking 12 hours and up for the mission durations, maybe even make them a true daily.
There would be different rarities, though. This could affect time, along with offering better rewards for the rarer missions.
The rewards themselves would be the usual, I guess; Influence, mods, gear, devices, maybe even some SCR.
Example: Your boyfriend/girlfriend/best friend has been kidnapped by PSI. Seems they might have some super-tiny psychic potential and PSI wants to experiment.
This is a 20 hour very rare mission and the reward is a tier 5 mod along with 3 SCR.
You chose to hunt Red Banner. Your mission against them is common and has a 12 hour duration. The reward is 3G.
You went with a "street level" contact. Maybe you chose a cop, maybe a bartender. Whoever. Anyway, they have a lead on the Black Aces smuggling weapons, so you go to check that out. It's an uncommon mission with a 16 hour duration. The reward is a 5 charge device that deals ranged particle damage (one of the weapons).
There would be a success/failure chance, though character level would be the only factor. Again, your hero is the one doing this so success is based on them.
There would be a failure chance, though, that would result in reduced (or no) rewards. Maybe 5%? Maybe affected by mission rarity (0/5/10/15% for C/U/R/VR missions)?
Don't worry, though, you will still rescue your DNPC. You would just fail to apprehend the criminals in the process.
Finally, these would unlock over time.
At level 20 you get one contact (DNPC? Choice?)
At level 30 you get the second contact (Hunting?)
At level 40 you get the final contact.
If you go with 5 contacts then go every five levels... 20, 25, 30, 35, 40. I like the idea of the first two being fixed, though, no matter what.
You get the DNPC first because everyone could have a DNPC at any level.
Then you get the hunting target because, again, anyone could decide to hunt any group. The real issue is making sure that you are strong enough to take them on.
And then at 40 (or 30 if you go with 5 contacts), you have earned enough trust/respect to get the final contact to give you the leads for the missions they give. Absolutely.
And I would also like a "delete nemesis" option for those occasions when a nemesis may no longer fit your vision of the hero.
Of course, a rename token could fix things as well, since you could totally change everything but the villain gender at that point, but if they charge the same Zen for both of these it's the same difference, really.
One just frees up that space in your rogue's gallery.
One other thing that I would like to see, though, is the option to replay the entire nemesis arc with a villain.
Even if it cost a few Zen it is something that I would consider.
Click here to check out my costumes/milleniumguardian (MG) in-game/We need more tights, stances and moods