So at a panel at Pax East Jack made a comment towards NCSoft to give him a call regarding City of Heroes. Interesting. Could two super hero MMOs survive under one publisher? How would that affect CO? How would dev support be divided amongst the titles?
1) Add my vote to the group opposed to letting Jack near the CoH IP ever again.
2) I would have major issues with playing CoH under the CO engine. Control and support powers would be crippled, play pacing would be hurt, and I have no interest in seeing signature Paragon City NPCs re-imagined with our stock swim-fin feet, orangutang arms, and Bratz-doll heads.
3) Without the Paragon team CoH had at shutdown, I would seriously question if the spirit of the game could be restored. And the odds Cryptic would budget a 50 person sub-studio, given the way things are going here in CO, are slim.
-
Formerly @Seschat pre PWEmerger. @Seschat on the Titan boards.
Apparently Mr. Emmert still considers City of Heroes as his, and in this article, doesn't just not mention Champions Online at all, but totally disses it in favor of Star Trek online...
You missed my favorite quote (emphasis mine):
Shutting servers down almost always negatively affects perception of game, and Emmert acknowledged that. "As soon as you start shutting servers down, it's a snowball, because there's nothing more important in MMOs than the belief that there's a future. It's a persistent world. You're committing your time into the game, and if you don't see that there's new stuff on the horizon, you're not going to want to play anymore."
WELCOME TO THE FUTURE, CHAMPIONS ONLINE PLAYERS!
Choose your enemies carefully, because they will define you / Make them interesting, because in some ways they will mind you
They're not there in the beginning, but when your story ends / Gonna last with you longer than your friends
Maybe you dislike the hands (and you realize there is a slider for that, right?) because CoX just didn't have hands, just nubby stubs that I suppose are supposed to be hands balled into fists. Regardless of your stylization preferences denying that CO has better graphics is just sily.
CO has better graphic because of being simply newer game.
I'm still waiting for a superhero game made in more serious style with modern technology.
It will simply kill CO in no time.
Alas, hand slider doesn't work exactly right (making hands of proper size makes them too thin, and correcting their thickness makes fingers too chunky), also, it doesn't work on npc - I may do my characters right, yet I'm still forced to look at those npc monstrositites.
No matter if you like it or not, CO artistic choice is a very common complaint for a reason. It kills any immersion or serious take on this game.
It's also inspired by... Well... Nothing?
Yeah.
It isn't the Silver Age feel because silver age comics mostly have more normal proportions:
It isn't archetypic superhero cartoon feeel as well, because characters in such also had better proportion (not counting Beast and Bishop, they are made in such way for a purpose):
It also lacks proper cartoon stylisation , with too much specular maps but not enough cell shading.
And certainly it isn't a typical Iron Age or modern comic book as well.
This game stylisation and character models aren't acceptable for many people, no wonder CO never had great reception - it's crippled by its artistic choice.
Also, there is no doubt that CoX character animations and emotes were better. While models were terribly dated, often painful to look at, they simply moved in a fluent, natural way.
In comparison CO walking and standing animations are very artificial and unnatural.
Or comicaly exaggerated.
I wouldn't say that CO looks less cartoonish than Blizzard's mmo. It's on the same level. Except that other mmo has a few more serious stories and better writing to compensate for it.
Also, I'm not surprised that Cryptic CEO doesn't talk about CO during the interview. Such occasions are great for advertising. And when advertising yourself, your studio and your product, you should talk abouth your strong points and successes. Not about failures.
It's perfectly understandable and really, can't blame him for not mentioning CO.
It's really quite simple and no need to argue. The problem is people are using the word "graphic" to encompass both the art style and the tech. For many, while CO's tech is obviously better, CoH's art style was better in that it was more like actual comic books.
Now, to cross-post from the Titan forums, even with as cautious as I feel about Jack, what if Cryptic got the CoX IP and the next-gen Superhero MMO was "City of Champions". Oh, God, it's just too beautiful to really happen. But it gives me butterflies to think about.
They would OWN the Superhero niche for years.
Just one of those "funny" dreams you had as a teen, but I had to say it.
Lets assume Jack wants the CoH IP, let's not automatically jump to the conclusion that he want's it for "MMO" reasons. They also own the Champions PnP IP, he might just want it to be able to put out CoH source material for an alternate setting for the Champions PnP game system.
But who really knows... I mean besides Jack.
This isn't precisely accurate. Hero Games still has creative control on the PnP side. If they wanted to use the City of Heroes IP, I'm pretty sure they'd have to negotiate that for themselves. But, IANAL.
I hope Jack buy CoH, I rather it alive to play then dead. Why would he buy it though, he sold it to NCSoft, and I don't think they have enough money to buy CoH anyways.
Use the City Name and its dark grim but with Champions lore? Makes sense City was inspired by the Champs PnP so its already half way there.
Mother of Zod, Nepht starting a reign of terror in a all new world with the best of both would blow my mind @__@"
CO Toon transfer would have to also be a thing
Wow. I can't remember ever seeing Nepht being that positive. :biggrin:
On topic:
Yes, I think it's a hoax. And even if it turns out to be true, and Cryptic is really buying CoX... I really hope they don't make another game out of it. Cryptic has proven incapable of handling more than two games at once properly. The more they add, the thinner they spread their personel. CO was all but abandoned for Neverwinter. I don't want to see what happens if Cryptic started working on yet another game.
They're not. At all. CoH, certainly showed its age when you put the two side by side... But, ask any former CoH player anything comparing to CoH to CO and they will tell you CoH every time regardless of how ridiculous it sounds.
Frankly I'm not sure why some of these people even bother to play CO if they think its such an inferior game. having played both extensively, sometimes I read these opinions and am completely baffled because I seem to remember the exact opposite.
>_>
Because if you can't be...
With the one you love...
Love the one you're with
Love the one you're with
If you're looking for a tights fix, you currently have two real choices.
1: DCUO
2: CO
While DCUO is "prettier", it's horrifically limited and limiting due to all the console considerations.
CO also has its limitations, but for a mostly-freeform MMORPG, it is still better than DCUO. Plus, being a Cryptic title, the control mechanisms are at least marginally familiar to the CoH Old Guard.
So if choices come down to:
A: CO
B: DCUO
C: Nothing
Which one are CoH people looking to play SOMETHING going to play?
Unless whatever superhero MMO gets Paragon quality devs, it doesn't matter what you call the game.
The really ****ty part would be that all us CO lifers would lose out if CoX came back unless our subs got transfered, which I can can almost guarantee will not happen, if only because based on the NW model there would be no subs.
Also, I'm getting sick of instanced bull****. CoX zoning was wide enough it didn't matter, CO was still pretty damn big but we moved much faster, STO kept you pretty linear, and in NWO you definitely feel like your diablo style dungeon crawling (which for NW is not necessarily a bad thing).
One of the most impressive features of that MMO which apparently should not be named for some stupid ****ing reason was being able to pull out a telescope and see clear across the land, being able to fly over entire mountain ranges, and swim down to explore the abandoned depths, etc etc and blah blah blah.
NW has mounts with nowhere to go. I can't imagen City of Vehicle Heroes 2 getting any better.
Not with these devs, not with these plans and not with this focus.
If you're looking for a tights fix, you currently have two real choices.
1: DCUO
2: CO
...
So if choices come down to:
A: CO
B: DCUO
C: Nothing
Which one are CoH people looking to play SOMETHING going to play?
FWIW, I played CoH, not because I'm a comic / superhero fan, but because I liked the gameplay (includes out of combat content), the devs, the way the title evolved.
A lot of the folks in this thread, not necessarily you, make the mistake in believing that, since tights are prominent in both games, the players of one game should automatically be attracted to the other. It doesn't work that way. Gamers are more complicated than that.
My choices would not include your C, but would include a Secret and a wookie because I genuinely like MMOs -- genre is not as important as gameplay, devs, and evolution.
Back Alley Brawler, Doc Aeon, Castle, and I think Synapse. Tumerboy was an env artist, as seen on the original box credits for CoH. Some who didn't talk at all on CoH forums, too.
So maybe not everyone, but there are some.
Oh and then there's Jack, who gets more hate than he deserves considering that COH was his brain child and would not exist without him. He gave us a classic MMO and ushered in a new MMO genre, you guys talk like Jack is on the same lv as Bill Roper...
The really ****ty part would be that all us CO lifers would lose out if CoX came back unless our subs got transfered, which I can can almost guarantee will not happen, if only because based on the NW model there would be no subs.
What are you loosing if you dont have a LTS for a game that doesnt offer subs?
If this ever happened, Lifers would probably get "founders status" or whatever so its a wash.
Keep in mind that im a lifer too. If someone makes a new Hero MMO we all benefit.
Not with these devs, not with these plans and not with this focus.
What devs?
A new Hero MMO would be able to draw on a shiney new budget. CO will never get that. A new hero MMO would be able to (with key players from CO and COH) draw on the collective experience from making both games (something that CO didn't get because we didnt have the paragon devs yet). A new hero MMO would be built on the latest version of the Cryptic engine and launch with the Foundry!
CO isn't a bad game, but has gotten to the point where it cant justify the finance it need to be great. Its not that there are no plans or no focus, there's no MONEY. A lot of this was due to a rocky start much of which was not Cryptic's fault (the global rescission hitting around launch time, loosing Microsoft backing, loosing Marvel backing).
A new MMO could justify that influx of money. Hell, its the only way.
Cryptic has made a lot of mistakes but lets look at their track record objectively: -1 Champions Online +1 Star Treck Online +1 City of Heroes
~.5? NeverWhinter Online
+2.5
Cryptic s record isn't all fail. I think that some would like to believe that because of gamer scorn.
The Current Cryptic is perfectly capable of making a new hero MMO.
PVP is starving without rewards
1. Please give us Daily PVP missions that reward Questionite.
2. Please give us an exchange rate between Acclaim and Recognition so that PVP has access to all "On Alert" PVE rewards.
Oh and then there's Jack, who gets more hate than he deserves considering that COH was his brain child and would not exist without him. He gave us a classic MMO and ushered in a new MMO genre, you guys talk like Jack is on the same lv as Bill Roper...
What are you loosing if you dont have a LTS for a game that doesnt offer subs?
If this ever happened, Lifers would probably get "founders status" or whatever so its a wash.
Keep in mind that im a lifer too. If someone makes a new Hero MMO we all benefit.
What devs?
A new Hero MMO would be able to draw on a shiney new budget. CO will never get that. A new hero MMO would be able to (with key players from CO and COH) draw on the collective experience from making both games (something that CO didn't get because we didnt have the paragon devs yet). A new hero MMO would be built on the latest version of the Cryptic engine and launch with the Foundry!
CO isn't a bad game, but has gotten to the point where it cant justify the finance it need to be great. Its not that there are no plans or no focus, there's no MONEY. A lot of this was due to a rocky start much of which was not Cryptic's fault (the global rescission hitting around launch time, loosing Microsoft backing, loosing Marvel backing).
A new MMO could justify that influx of money. Hell, its the only way.
Cryptic has made a lot of mistakes but lets look at their track record objectively: -1 Champions Online +1 Star Treck Online +1 City of Heroes
~.5? NeverWhinter Online
+2.5
Cryptic s record isn't all fail. I think that some would like to believe that because of gamer scorn.
The Current Cryptic is perfectly capable of making a new hero MMO.
Based on what we've seen them ACTUALLY DO HERE, the new cryptic with no money (PWE controls the purse strings) is certainly not capable of making a new hero mmo. There actually is no serious focus nor plans here.
I don't consider mostly lockboxes and vehicles to be serious focus nor serious plans.
If there had never been a COH there would never have been a CO. :cool:
Based on what we've seen them ACTUALLY DO HERE, the new cryptic with no money (PWE controls the purse strings) is certainly not capable of making a new hero mmo. There actually is no serious focus nor plans here.
I don't consider mostly lockboxes and vehicles to be serious focus nor serious plans.
I think your missing my pint.
A. You cant take what you see at CO as being representive of Cryptic as a whole, see above.
B. The new cryptic DOES have money (from PWE) just look at STO or NWO. CO is the one what doesn't have money because it is under-performing. New MMOs always have the money flowing. Making a new game is the only way to get PWE to open its wallet for a hero MMO.
C. The Lack of focus/Plans is due to the lack of MONEY to implement plans. NWO and STO don't suffer from those problems and a new MMO would not either.
The alternative is to have CO eventually die off and DCUO be the final hero MMO.
PVP is starving without rewards
1. Please give us Daily PVP missions that reward Questionite.
2. Please give us an exchange rate between Acclaim and Recognition so that PVP has access to all "On Alert" PVE rewards.
I think your missing my pint.
A. You cant take what you see at CO as being representive of Cryptic as a whole, see above.
B. The new cryptic DOES have money (from PWE) just look at STO or NWO. CO is the one what doesn't have money because it is under-performing. New MMOs always have the money flowing. Making a new game is the only way to get PWE to open its wallet for a hero MMO.
C. The Lack of focus/Plans is due to the lack of MONEY to implement plans. NWO and STO don't suffer from those problems and a new MMO would not either.
The alternative is to have CO eventually die off and DCUO be the final hero MMO.
I think you last sentence is honestly where we are headed.
The new cryptic DOES NOT have money for another superhero mmo if the one they already have isn't producing the financial results they (PWE) want.
Why on earth would they (PWE) ever allow Cryptic to invest in another superhero mmo if the one they already have in underperforming.
Any new MMO they come up with is NOT going to be a super hero one.
If there had never been a COH there would never have been a CO. :cool:
Just for the record...about some people saying this game doesn't have the money.
Another Perfect World Title also had this issue....but after a lot of cash shop usage it no longer has that same issue.
This game....Champions Online may have some Issues....but if the usage of Cosmic Keys and constant spam for them doesn't tell anyone.....they are getting cash....after all....someone is buying the golden keys.....sorry Questionite alone isn't going to make it possible for people to have that many items from the newest lock boxes floating around that much with that many people selling keys.
People are spending money like mad on zen for champions....and I know....from experience with another perfect world title.....
That when the player base does that.....good things happen.
Power without Perception is Spiritually useless and therefore of no true value.
Why on earth would they (PWE) ever allow Cryptic to invest in another superhero mmo if the one they already have in underperforming.
Any new MMO they come up with is NOT going to be a super hero one.
Solid points, i was speaking from the hypothetical perspective of Cryptic regaining the COH IP. I personally, feel that there is still a market for the hero MMO genre, COH left in good standing, and DCUO is doing pretty decently. CO is the bad egg of the bunch. Why make another hero MMO? Why make another fantasy MMO? Whatever, I admit that PWE has a reason to be skeptical.
Like you, I believe that the next Cryptic MMO will NOT be COX2. I think PWE will want them to do something more safe, which is why i said i another thread that i expect the next Cryptic MMO to be a safe syfi/fantasy hybrid game similar to Wild Star in theme.
PVP is starving without rewards
1. Please give us Daily PVP missions that reward Questionite.
2. Please give us an exchange rate between Acclaim and Recognition so that PVP has access to all "On Alert" PVE rewards.
Oh and then there's Jack, who gets more hate than he deserves considering that COH was his brain child and would not exist without him. He gave us a classic MMO and ushered in a new MMO genre, you guys talk like Jack is on the same lv as Bill Roper...
Well, maybe if Jack took care of the superhero game he has now, instead of dividing his attention between running a sci-fi game, launching a sword'n'sorcery game, and waxing nostalgic for the superhero game he gave up on over five years ago, we wouldn't be equating him with Roper.
Choose your enemies carefully, because they will define you / Make them interesting, because in some ways they will mind you
They're not there in the beginning, but when your story ends / Gonna last with you longer than your friends
Wow. I can't remember ever seeing Nepht being that positive. :biggrin:
On topic:
Yes, I think it's a hoax. And even if it turns out to be true, and Cryptic is really buying CoX... I really hope they don't make another game out of it. Cryptic has proven incapable of handling more than two games at once properly. The more they add, the thinner they spread their personel. CO was all but abandoned for Neverwinter. I don't want to see what happens if Cryptic started working on yet another game.
Yeah the CO vs CoX threads usually make me go "SHUT THE HELL UP!" But what Sigma said wasnt the norm or the absurd ( Like the mad people that said CoX looked better than CO....yeah flat drawn on faces and mittens were just so awesome ). He never compared the two games or said one was better than the other.
If Cryptic were to ever get the IP back I doubt they would get the actual game back only the characters and lore. I disagree with his idea for the name for a theoretical 3rd Super MMO being a PnP fan I think the Champions name has a bigger fan base ( but as I said I may be biased ). I think if the lore does get merged something along the line of City Of Champions would be awesome. Would also give HERO games some new characters to play with.
Both CO and City are and where buggy and busted as hell but as we have seen with Neverwinter, Cryptic have mastered their game and with CO getting a little bit old in the tooth maybe they should look at a replacement .
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!
I was originally under the impression that this was a hoax but if not, it could be interesting. A CoX expansion would be interesting, especially at higher levels.
"I tried to look at that page but saw only inane comments."
Solid points, i was speaking from the hypothetical perspective of Cryptic regaining the COH IP. I personally, feel that there is still a market for the hero MMO genre, COH left in good standing, and DCUO is doing pretty decently. CO is the bad egg of the bunch. Why make another hero MMO? Why make another fantasy MMO? Whatever, I admit that PWE has a reason to be skeptical.
Like you, I believe that the next Cryptic MMO will NOT be COX2. I think PWE will want them to do something more safe, which is why i said i another thread that i expect the next Cryptic MMO to be a safe syfi/fantasy hybrid game similar to Wild Star in theme.
Firefly Online! :biggrin:
Seriously, though, Star Trek games suffered horribly through the first ten years or so of computer/video game development. Then, I think it was Interplay who turned that around with Starfleet Command and Judgement Rites. There were a few missteps, since then, but the overall trend has been upward. Likewise, for the longest time, "spandex" games were ****, then came City of Heroes (or, arguably, Freedom Force).
That was a pretty high bar to reach, and the current crop, if you include Marvel Heroes (talking games, here, not just MMOs), are at least an honest effort. There will be struggles, but the genre will come back. The key is getting someone to produce a good enough game to attract more than just us, we few, we disgruntled few.
FWIW, I played CoH, not because I'm a comic / superhero fan, but because I liked the gameplay (includes out of combat content), the devs, the way the title evolved.
A lot of the folks in this thread, not necessarily you, make the mistake in believing that, since tights are prominent in both games, the players of one game should automatically be attracted to the other. It doesn't work that way. Gamers are more complicated than that.
My choices would not include your C, but would include a Secret and a wookie because I genuinely like MMOs -- genre is not as important as gameplay, devs, and evolution.
From your perspective? Sure. I'm talking about: People who're looking to play a superhero/villain game. Gameplay isn't necessarily a "lesser" concern. But gameplay and genre would hold approximate importance.
I don't trust Jack and I blame him directly for the current state of CO...
bingo, he couldnt even come in here 2 years ago to even try to make this game better. how could get hope to get city of. (lets face it it has sooo much more fans.) i really dont think pwe couldnt even hope to get let alot run city of.
CO isn't a bad game, but has gotten to the point where it cant justify the finance it need to be great. Its not that there are no plans or no focus, there's no MONEY. A lot of this was due to a rocky start much of which was not Cryptic's fault (the global rescission hitting around launch time, loosing Microsoft backing, loosing Marvel backing).
I disagree. While SOME of the timing issues are not Cryptic's fault, lots of problems during CO's development and life cycle are ENTIRELY Cryptic's fault. As was how they addressed these self-inflicted wounds with the community.
Think of it as shooting yourself with a hollow point bullet and then going after the fragments with a chainsaw...
Cryptic s record isn't all fail. I think that some would like to believe that because of gamer scorn.
The Current Cryptic is perfectly capable of making a new hero MMO.
Cryptic's record isn't all "fail". But most of the titles that wound un succeeding did so because of factors that had almost NOTHING to do with Cryptic's leadership on the title.
In short, they succeeded DESPITE Cryptic. Not BECAUSE of Cryptic.
I think your missing my pint.
A. You cant take what you see at CO as being representive of Cryptic as a whole, see above.
B. The new cryptic DOES have money (from PWE) just look at STO or NWO. CO is the one what doesn't have money because it is under-performing. New MMOs always have the money flowing. Making a new game is the only way to get PWE to open its wallet for a hero MMO.
STO was underperforming initially as well. But the Star Trek brand penetration is orders of magnitude larger than Champions PnP.
Basically it's a license to print money. There's no way PWE was going to let the title founder so close to launch.
C. The Lack of focus/Plans is due to the lack of MONEY to implement plans. NWO and STO don't suffer from those problems and a new MMO would not either.
And, conversely, the lack of money for CO is due to the lack of focus and plans, plus major mis-management of the title. They couldn't even knock a 5 year old title they'd created themselves, off the top-reigning spot.
Unless April Fools Day has been moved to March 25th, then it's not an April Fools joke.
So this is actually serious, then?
Poor choice of a day to post a thread about it then. I'm automatically skeptical of everything posted on April 1st.
But anyway, Jack's unlikely to get the CoH property. NCSoft has already shown that it has no interest in selling. Face it, April Fools or not, it's not going to happen.
Poor choice of a day to post a thread about it then. I'm automatically skeptical of everything posted on April 1st.
But anyway, Jack's unlikely to get the CoH property. NCSoft has already shown that it has no interest in selling. Face it, April Fools or not, it's not going to happen.
Pretty much /thread.
NCSoft ain't selling anytime soon.
If there had never been a COH there would never have been a CO. :cool:
Poor choice of a day to post a thread about it then. I'm automatically skeptical of everything posted on April 1st.
But anyway, Jack's unlikely to get the CoH property. NCSoft has already shown that it has no interest in selling. Face it, April Fools or not, it's not going to happen.
I was initially skeptical, since MMORPG.com posted the link on their Twitter sometime yesterday morning. It's legit, in so far as the event really happened and people actually said the things being discussed, here. People who have legitimate connections from the Titan network are going through channels to see if they can get more info.
I would not trust in loose chat Jack Emmert spouts at Expos based purely on the unfulfilled promises he made about this title.
Four years on from all his excited statements about Champions and he has singularly and spectacularly failed to stand up and make sure CO gets developed properly.
I'm convinced Cryptic-Studios has burn-out for the Superhero MMO genre, so no, I would not trust Cryptic to make good on a CoH revival when they have a perfectly good shot at Champions which has a far better and richer IP and they continually fail at delivering on that potential.
..........................................
Dropping my knitting to buff you whilst hitting - Proudly protecting Millennium City's little ones since 2009.
Frankly I'm not sure why some of these people even bother to play CO if they think its such an inferior game. having played both extensively, sometimes I read these opinions and am completely baffled because I seem to remember the exact opposite.
>_>
Y'want to know why THIS ex-CoX player plays this game? Because it's the only thing left out here in the superhero genre that's even marginally playable.
Soon as someone comes out with an alternative? I'm outtie.
yes I can see how you think a blockyfaced lego headed model that is nearly a decade old is superior compared to smooth, clear models./textures of CO. Maybe you dislike the hands (and you realize there is a slider for that, right?) because CoX just didn't have hands, just nubby stubs that I suppose are supposed to be hands balled into fists. Regardless of your stylization preferences denying that CO has better graphics is just sily.
I do believe I stated I'd learned how to tweak sliders so MY characters look more or less normal, but NPC's and the other hundred or so players that haven't....ARE THE ONES I HAVE TO LOOK AT THE MOST.
Also, I can tell your shots were taken at the lowest graphical settings for City of.
Here, let me demonstrate what the game really looked like, starting with the water garden I BUILD FROM THE GROUND UP in the Drow supergroup I was a member of:
That's an example of world models. Nothing in this game looks so good. NOTHING.
And now, character models. A devil. Well...THE devil:
And again, trying to look all goody two shoes:
And there's nothing to compare in Champions Online to this pic, because despite having superior graphics, (which I concede, but the art department is inferior) CO still doesn't have auras for it's super heroes.
I present Burnt Off'rings:
So yes, the character models are only marginally better here. The world environment? WAAAYYY too cartoonish. But, it's all there is for now, so I'll bite the bullet and make do.
Also...I'll take those "dated graphics" any day of the year, if they include regular updates and communication from the dev team as well as the quality of life improvements that game had that this game STILL sorely lacks.
Is there any developer (other than the old team) you guys think is capable of doing COH2 justice?
PVP is starving without rewards
1. Please give us Daily PVP missions that reward Questionite.
2. Please give us an exchange rate between Acclaim and Recognition so that PVP has access to all "On Alert" PVE rewards.
Is there any developer (other than the old team) you guys think is capable of doing COH2 justice?
yes piranha games in canada.
They are an indie game studio that answer to NO ONE and currently have mechwarrior online open beta running on cry engine 3 and are doing an awesome job so far.
Some of The Secret World's cutscenes are just... astoundingly cool. The conversation with Amir gives me chills just thinking about it.
Too bad the gameplay is smoke and mirrors -- all flexible and choose your own way until you hit a brick wall at endgame and it's the usual threesome raiding.
Campaign: The Fenwick Cycle NWS-DKR9GB7KH
Wicks and Things: NW-DI4FMZRR4 : The Fenwick merchant family has lost a caravan! Can you help?
Beggar's Hollow: NW-DR6YG4J2L : Someone, or something, has stolen away many of the Fenwicks' children! Can you find out what happened to them?
Into the Fen Wood: NW-DL89DRG7B : Enter the heart of the forest. Can you discover the secret of the Fen Wood?
Some of The Secret World's cutscenes are just... astoundingly cool. The conversation with Amir gives me chills just thinking about it.
I personally hated the conversations because you just get talked at all day. You're a mute. Or just very shy. Which is not becoming of a "super hero". :P
Well, yeah. And the animations in the cut scenes were often dire. But the voice acting and writing are better than just about any MMO I can think of (and many non-MMOs).
Campaign: The Fenwick Cycle NWS-DKR9GB7KH
Wicks and Things: NW-DI4FMZRR4 : The Fenwick merchant family has lost a caravan! Can you help?
Beggar's Hollow: NW-DR6YG4J2L : Someone, or something, has stolen away many of the Fenwicks' children! Can you find out what happened to them?
Into the Fen Wood: NW-DL89DRG7B : Enter the heart of the forest. Can you discover the secret of the Fen Wood?
Here, let me demonstrate what the game really looked like, starting with the water garden I BUILD FROM THE GROUND UP in the Drow supergroup I was a member of:
That's an example of world models. Nothing in this game looks so good. NOTHING.
Ew elves. ;P
I want to say that I'm being completely objective. I find nothing remarkable about that screenshot, at all. I see a stone room and some plants in it. The lighting is bland. It all looks dark and muddy (mossy?) like Lemurian dungeons in this game. I honestly don't see the anything worth writing home about there.
I'm not huge on environments, but, one of my favorite places in Champions is the area north of Renaissance Center. It has a real nice warm vibe. Whiteout also has cool environments (pardon the pun), with the snowstorm really giving it a good feel. Lemuria looks beautiful (too bad I hate underwater levels!).
Most of what I experienced in City was very cold urban environments, much like the east side of Millennium City. I played the game for over a year, and that's my takeaway from it. Cold and lifeless. That place to the east I think, where there it looked like a city that had been through an earthquake was pretty neat, but, not mindblowing.
Also, have you fought Therakiel?
(Keep in mind, just sharing opinions, I'm not trying to say yours is wrong because I like something different.)
And now, character models. A devil. Well...THE devil:
<snips>
And again, trying to look all goody two shoes:
<snaps>
And there's nothing to compare in Champions Online to this pic, because despite having superior graphics, (which I concede, but the art department is inferior) CO still doesn't have auras for it's super heroes.
While auras would be nice, I personally don't think they bring too much into the game. Could be that I'm a fan of classic comic books where every hero was not glowing or on fire or whatever.
So yes, the character models are only marginally better here. The world environment? WAAAYYY too cartoonish. But, it's all there is for now, so I'll bite the bullet and make do.
Also...I'll take those "dated graphics" any day of the year, if they include regular updates and communication from the dev team as well as the quality of life improvements that game had that this game STILL sorely lacks.
I wouldn't say marginally better, not by a longshot. Again, opinion, but, City characters always looked stiff to me, no actual character to them.
On your second point here, I dunno. I would have never gone back to City just for the story or updates. Visual quality is important to me, but moreso gameplay, but that's beside the point. Someone mentioned that at least Champs isn't as cartoony as WoW is. I very largely prefer stylized graphics, and wish Champs was moreso. Hell I wish it was way more like what Borderlands looks like. Pen-ink lines and shading, kinda like a comic book. Perish the thought!
"G.R.A.B. is here to [squints at writer's awful penmanship] relieve you of your heavy burdens!"
Choose your enemies carefully, because they will define you / Make them interesting, because in some ways they will mind you
They're not there in the beginning, but when your story ends / Gonna last with you longer than your friends
It is kind of sad that the best delivered dialogue in the game is the ham-to-ham combat between Dr Destroyer and Shadow Destroyer...
The voice actors seem to read their dialogue paragraph by paragraph, just look a Hi-Pan's dialogue from his first appearance, the "bah...MCP" part doesn't even remotely flow into the next set. Also Defenders dialogue in the same mission the "good work hero..." doesn't flow into the "lets trap these miscreants between us" part.
The dialogue is pretty clumsy. It's going for a sort of Silver Age, Steve Ditko vibe, but, if you go back ad read some of that stuff out loud, it doesn't work. Maybe the game shouldn't have the voiceover. I never really liked it, anyway, but it never bothered me enough to go turn it off. Mostly, I just ignore it.
The voice actors seem to read their dialogue paragraph by paragraph, just look a Hi-Pan's dialogue from his first appearance, the "bah...MCP" part doesn't even remotely flow into the next set. Also Defenders dialogue in the same mission the "good work hero..." doesn't flow into the "lets trap these miscreants between us" part.
You kinda have to have the lines/paragraphs in different files to accommodate the scene building process, but therein lies the problem...
The dialogue is pretty clumsy. It's going for a sort of Silver Age, Steve Ditko vibe, but, if you go back ad read some of that stuff out loud, it doesn't work.
...the problem is that for the most part, the voice acting is okay, but the person putting together the cutscene is either not good at the beat and timing of the conversations, or there's some kind of technical limitation. But I'm guessing it's the latter.
...the problem is that for the most part, the voice acting is okay, but the person putting together the cutscene is either not good at the beat and timing of the conversations, or there's some kind of technical limitation. But I'm guessing it's the latter.
I was under the impression that the way cut scenes work in CO was kind of a hack job. This is part of why i was hoping that the next Cryptic game (which i assume will come with some kind of update to foundry tech) will include cutscene tech for the foundry.
While foundry cutscenes would be fun for players, the devs would clearly benefit from better cutscene tools. This might also help with all the cutscene bugs we get all the time.
PVP is starving without rewards
1. Please give us Daily PVP missions that reward Questionite.
2. Please give us an exchange rate between Acclaim and Recognition so that PVP has access to all "On Alert" PVE rewards.
I was under the impression that the way cut scenes work in CO was kind of a hack job. This is part of why i was hoping that the next Cryptic game (which i assume will come with some kind of update to foundry tech) will include cutscene tech for the foundry.
While foundry cutscenes would be fun for players, the devs would clearly benefit from better cutscene tools. This might also help with all the cutscene bugs we get all the time.
Oops, I actually meant to say it was the former, not the latter, but I really don't know how much of a hack job it all is.
I was originally under the impression that this was a hoax but if not, it could be interesting. A CoX expansion would be interesting, especially at higher levels.
It's not a hoax (unless March 25th is now April Fools Day), but it doesn't mean that Cryptic is buying CoH back.
It just means that Jack wants (or said he wants) to buy CoH. That's all.
Whether NCSoft takes him up on that offer (or even acknowledges that he made the offer, or even learns that he made the offer) is another mater entirely.
"It is unthinkable. But such is the nature of villainy, don't you think? To do the unthinkable, to challenge the impossible, to conquer all before you and make destiny your own." - Ghost Widow
Comments
1) Add my vote to the group opposed to letting Jack near the CoH IP ever again.
2) I would have major issues with playing CoH under the CO engine. Control and support powers would be crippled, play pacing would be hurt, and I have no interest in seeing signature Paragon City NPCs re-imagined with our stock swim-fin feet, orangutang arms, and Bratz-doll heads.
3) Without the Paragon team CoH had at shutdown, I would seriously question if the spirit of the game could be restored. And the odds Cryptic would budget a 50 person sub-studio, given the way things are going here in CO, are slim.
Formerly @Seschat pre PWEmerger. @Seschat on the Titan boards.
Supporter of the Titan Project.
You missed my favorite quote (emphasis mine):
WELCOME TO THE FUTURE, CHAMPIONS ONLINE PLAYERS!
They're not there in the beginning, but when your story ends / Gonna last with you longer than your friends
CO has better graphic because of being simply newer game.
I'm still waiting for a superhero game made in more serious style with modern technology.
It will simply kill CO in no time.
Alas, hand slider doesn't work exactly right (making hands of proper size makes them too thin, and correcting their thickness makes fingers too chunky), also, it doesn't work on npc - I may do my characters right, yet I'm still forced to look at those npc monstrositites.
No matter if you like it or not, CO artistic choice is a very common complaint for a reason. It kills any immersion or serious take on this game.
It's also inspired by... Well... Nothing?
Yeah.
It isn't the Silver Age feel because silver age comics mostly have more normal proportions:
It isn't archetypic superhero cartoon feeel as well, because characters in such also had better proportion (not counting Beast and Bishop, they are made in such way for a purpose):
It also lacks proper cartoon stylisation , with too much specular maps but not enough cell shading.
And certainly it isn't a typical Iron Age or modern comic book as well.
This game stylisation and character models aren't acceptable for many people, no wonder CO never had great reception - it's crippled by its artistic choice.
Also, there is no doubt that CoX character animations and emotes were better. While models were terribly dated, often painful to look at, they simply moved in a fluent, natural way.
In comparison CO walking and standing animations are very artificial and unnatural.
Or comicaly exaggerated.
I wouldn't say that CO looks less cartoonish than Blizzard's mmo. It's on the same level. Except that other mmo has a few more serious stories and better writing to compensate for it.
Also, I'm not surprised that Cryptic CEO doesn't talk about CO during the interview. Such occasions are great for advertising. And when advertising yourself, your studio and your product, you should talk abouth your strong points and successes. Not about failures.
It's perfectly understandable and really, can't blame him for not mentioning CO.
Now, to cross-post from the Titan forums, even with as cautious as I feel about Jack, what if Cryptic got the CoX IP and the next-gen Superhero MMO was "City of Champions". Oh, God, it's just too beautiful to really happen. But it gives me butterflies to think about.
They would OWN the Superhero niche for years.
Just one of those "funny" dreams you had as a teen, but I had to say it.
This isn't precisely accurate. Hero Games still has creative control on the PnP side. If they wanted to use the City of Heroes IP, I'm pretty sure they'd have to negotiate that for themselves. But, IANAL.
Part of the problem since December, 2012.
Is it really bad that I started getting visions of Ralph Macchio and William Zabka kicking each others' faces in?
Sweep the leg Johnny...
"Champions-Online and Star Trek Online contained hundreds of hours of mediocre content!"
and "nothing was polished".
--Jack Emmert
Wow. I can't remember ever seeing Nepht being that positive. :biggrin:
On topic:
Yes, I think it's a hoax. And even if it turns out to be true, and Cryptic is really buying CoX... I really hope they don't make another game out of it. Cryptic has proven incapable of handling more than two games at once properly. The more they add, the thinner they spread their personel. CO was all but abandoned for Neverwinter. I don't want to see what happens if Cryptic started working on yet another game.
Because if you can't be...
With the one you love...
Love the one you're with
Love the one you're with
If you're looking for a tights fix, you currently have two real choices.
1: DCUO
2: CO
While DCUO is "prettier", it's horrifically limited and limiting due to all the console considerations.
CO also has its limitations, but for a mostly-freeform MMORPG, it is still better than DCUO. Plus, being a Cryptic title, the control mechanisms are at least marginally familiar to the CoH Old Guard.
So if choices come down to:
A: CO
B: DCUO
C: Nothing
Which one are CoH people looking to play SOMETHING going to play?
"Champions-Online and Star Trek Online contained hundreds of hours of mediocre content!"
and "nothing was polished".
--Jack Emmert
(It's The Demonologist from Champions Villains Volume 2)
The lore means ****, its the devs that matter.
Unless whatever superhero MMO gets Paragon quality devs, it doesn't matter what you call the game.
The really ****ty part would be that all us CO lifers would lose out if CoX came back unless our subs got transfered, which I can can almost guarantee will not happen, if only because based on the NW model there would be no subs.
Also, I'm getting sick of instanced bull****. CoX zoning was wide enough it didn't matter, CO was still pretty damn big but we moved much faster, STO kept you pretty linear, and in NWO you definitely feel like your diablo style dungeon crawling (which for NW is not necessarily a bad thing).
One of the most impressive features of that MMO which apparently should not be named for some stupid ****ing reason was being able to pull out a telescope and see clear across the land, being able to fly over entire mountain ranges, and swim down to explore the abandoned depths, etc etc and blah blah blah.
NW has mounts with nowhere to go. I can't imagen City of Vehicle Heroes 2 getting any better.
Not with these devs, not with these plans and not with this focus.
A lot of the folks in this thread, not necessarily you, make the mistake in believing that, since tights are prominent in both games, the players of one game should automatically be attracted to the other. It doesn't work that way. Gamers are more complicated than that.
My choices would not include your C, but would include a Secret and a wookie because I genuinely like MMOs -- genre is not as important as gameplay, devs, and evolution.
What are you loosing if you dont have a LTS for a game that doesnt offer subs?
If this ever happened, Lifers would probably get "founders status" or whatever so its a wash.
Keep in mind that im a lifer too. If someone makes a new Hero MMO we all benefit. What devs?
A new Hero MMO would be able to draw on a shiney new budget. CO will never get that. A new hero MMO would be able to (with key players from CO and COH) draw on the collective experience from making both games (something that CO didn't get because we didnt have the paragon devs yet). A new hero MMO would be built on the latest version of the Cryptic engine and launch with the Foundry!
CO isn't a bad game, but has gotten to the point where it cant justify the finance it need to be great. Its not that there are no plans or no focus, there's no MONEY. A lot of this was due to a rocky start much of which was not Cryptic's fault (the global rescission hitting around launch time, loosing Microsoft backing, loosing Marvel backing).
A new MMO could justify that influx of money. Hell, its the only way.
Cryptic has made a lot of mistakes but lets look at their track record objectively:
-1 Champions Online
+1 Star Treck Online
+1 City of Heroes
~.5? NeverWhinter Online
+2.5
Cryptic s record isn't all fail. I think that some would like to believe that because of gamer scorn.
The Current Cryptic is perfectly capable of making a new hero MMO.
PVP is starving without rewards
1. Please give us Daily PVP missions that reward Questionite.
2. Please give us an exchange rate between Acclaim and Recognition so that PVP has access to all "On Alert" PVE rewards.
Based on what we've seen them ACTUALLY DO HERE, the new cryptic with no money (PWE controls the purse strings) is certainly not capable of making a new hero mmo. There actually is no serious focus nor plans here.
I don't consider mostly lockboxes and vehicles to be serious focus nor serious plans.
If there had never been a COH there would never have been a CO. :cool:
I think your missing my pint.
A. You cant take what you see at CO as being representive of Cryptic as a whole, see above.
B. The new cryptic DOES have money (from PWE) just look at STO or NWO. CO is the one what doesn't have money because it is under-performing. New MMOs always have the money flowing. Making a new game is the only way to get PWE to open its wallet for a hero MMO.
C. The Lack of focus/Plans is due to the lack of MONEY to implement plans. NWO and STO don't suffer from those problems and a new MMO would not either.
The alternative is to have CO eventually die off and DCUO be the final hero MMO.
PVP is starving without rewards
1. Please give us Daily PVP missions that reward Questionite.
2. Please give us an exchange rate between Acclaim and Recognition so that PVP has access to all "On Alert" PVE rewards.
I think you last sentence is honestly where we are headed.
The new cryptic DOES NOT have money for another superhero mmo if the one they already have isn't producing the financial results they (PWE) want.
Why on earth would they (PWE) ever allow Cryptic to invest in another superhero mmo if the one they already have in underperforming.
Any new MMO they come up with is NOT going to be a super hero one.
If there had never been a COH there would never have been a CO. :cool:
Just for the record...about some people saying this game doesn't have the money.
Another Perfect World Title also had this issue....but after a lot of cash shop usage it no longer has that same issue.
This game....Champions Online may have some Issues....but if the usage of Cosmic Keys and constant spam for them doesn't tell anyone.....they are getting cash....after all....someone is buying the golden keys.....sorry Questionite alone isn't going to make it possible for people to have that many items from the newest lock boxes floating around that much with that many people selling keys.
People are spending money like mad on zen for champions....and I know....from experience with another perfect world title.....
That when the player base does that.....good things happen.
Power without Perception is Spiritually useless and therefore of no true value.
=^_^=
Like you, I believe that the next Cryptic MMO will NOT be COX2. I think PWE will want them to do something more safe, which is why i said i another thread that i expect the next Cryptic MMO to be a safe syfi/fantasy hybrid game similar to Wild Star in theme.
PVP is starving without rewards
1. Please give us Daily PVP missions that reward Questionite.
2. Please give us an exchange rate between Acclaim and Recognition so that PVP has access to all "On Alert" PVE rewards.
Well, maybe if Jack took care of the superhero game he has now, instead of dividing his attention between running a sci-fi game, launching a sword'n'sorcery game, and waxing nostalgic for the superhero game he gave up on over five years ago, we wouldn't be equating him with Roper.
They're not there in the beginning, but when your story ends / Gonna last with you longer than your friends
Yeah the CO vs CoX threads usually make me go "SHUT THE HELL UP!" But what Sigma said wasnt the norm or the absurd ( Like the mad people that said CoX looked better than CO....yeah flat drawn on faces and mittens were just so awesome ). He never compared the two games or said one was better than the other.
If Cryptic were to ever get the IP back I doubt they would get the actual game back only the characters and lore. I disagree with his idea for the name for a theoretical 3rd Super MMO being a PnP fan I think the Champions name has a bigger fan base ( but as I said I may be biased ). I think if the lore does get merged something along the line of City Of Champions would be awesome. Would also give HERO games some new characters to play with.
Both CO and City are and where buggy and busted as hell but as we have seen with Neverwinter, Cryptic have mastered their game and with CO getting a little bit old in the tooth maybe they should look at a replacement .
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!
Firefly Online! :biggrin:
Seriously, though, Star Trek games suffered horribly through the first ten years or so of computer/video game development. Then, I think it was Interplay who turned that around with Starfleet Command and Judgement Rites. There were a few missteps, since then, but the overall trend has been upward. Likewise, for the longest time, "spandex" games were ****, then came City of Heroes (or, arguably, Freedom Force).
That was a pretty high bar to reach, and the current crop, if you include Marvel Heroes (talking games, here, not just MMOs), are at least an honest effort. There will be struggles, but the genre will come back. The key is getting someone to produce a good enough game to attract more than just us, we few, we disgruntled few.
Part of the problem since December, 2012.
From your perspective? Sure. I'm talking about: People who're looking to play a superhero/villain game. Gameplay isn't necessarily a "lesser" concern. But gameplay and genre would hold approximate importance.
"Champions-Online and Star Trek Online contained hundreds of hours of mediocre content!"
and "nothing was polished".
--Jack Emmert
bingo, he couldnt even come in here 2 years ago to even try to make this game better. how could get hope to get city of. (lets face it it has sooo much more fans.) i really dont think pwe couldnt even hope to get let alot run city of.
I disagree. While SOME of the timing issues are not Cryptic's fault, lots of problems during CO's development and life cycle are ENTIRELY Cryptic's fault. As was how they addressed these self-inflicted wounds with the community.
Think of it as shooting yourself with a hollow point bullet and then going after the fragments with a chainsaw...
Cryptic's record isn't all "fail". But most of the titles that wound un succeeding did so because of factors that had almost NOTHING to do with Cryptic's leadership on the title.
In short, they succeeded DESPITE Cryptic. Not BECAUSE of Cryptic.
"Champions-Online and Star Trek Online contained hundreds of hours of mediocre content!"
and "nothing was polished".
--Jack Emmert
STO was underperforming initially as well. But the Star Trek brand penetration is orders of magnitude larger than Champions PnP.
Basically it's a license to print money. There's no way PWE was going to let the title founder so close to launch.
And, conversely, the lack of money for CO is due to the lack of focus and plans, plus major mis-management of the title. They couldn't even knock a 5 year old title they'd created themselves, off the top-reigning spot.
"Champions-Online and Star Trek Online contained hundreds of hours of mediocre content!"
and "nothing was polished".
--Jack Emmert
So this is actually serious, then?
Poor choice of a day to post a thread about it then. I'm automatically skeptical of everything posted on April 1st.
But anyway, Jack's unlikely to get the CoH property. NCSoft has already shown that it has no interest in selling. Face it, April Fools or not, it's not going to happen.
Pretty much /thread.
NCSoft ain't selling anytime soon.
If there had never been a COH there would never have been a CO. :cool:
I was initially skeptical, since MMORPG.com posted the link on their Twitter sometime yesterday morning. It's legit, in so far as the event really happened and people actually said the things being discussed, here. People who have legitimate connections from the Titan network are going through channels to see if they can get more info.
Part of the problem since December, 2012.
Four years on from all his excited statements about Champions and he has singularly and spectacularly failed to stand up and make sure CO gets developed properly.
I'm convinced Cryptic-Studios has burn-out for the Superhero MMO genre, so no, I would not trust Cryptic to make good on a CoH revival when they have a perfectly good shot at Champions which has a far better and richer IP and they continually fail at delivering on that potential.
Dropping my knitting to buff you whilst hitting - Proudly protecting Millennium City's little ones since 2009.
@Mothers_Love
The SAYING of it costs him NOTHING. But just saying nice things gets him lots of essentially free goodwill.
As to actually following through? Pfft. A snowflake in a post-global-warming furnace in Hell has a better chance.
"Champions-Online and Star Trek Online contained hundreds of hours of mediocre content!"
and "nothing was polished".
--Jack Emmert
Y'want to know why THIS ex-CoX player plays this game? Because it's the only thing left out here in the superhero genre that's even marginally playable.
Soon as someone comes out with an alternative? I'm outtie.
Occam's Razor makes the cutting clean.
I do believe I stated I'd learned how to tweak sliders so MY characters look more or less normal, but NPC's and the other hundred or so players that haven't....ARE THE ONES I HAVE TO LOOK AT THE MOST.
Also, I can tell your shots were taken at the lowest graphical settings for City of.
Here, let me demonstrate what the game really looked like, starting with the water garden I BUILD FROM THE GROUND UP in the Drow supergroup I was a member of:
That's an example of world models. Nothing in this game looks so good. NOTHING.
And now, character models. A devil. Well...THE devil:
And again, trying to look all goody two shoes:
And there's nothing to compare in Champions Online to this pic, because despite having superior graphics, (which I concede, but the art department is inferior) CO still doesn't have auras for it's super heroes.
I present Burnt Off'rings:
So yes, the character models are only marginally better here. The world environment? WAAAYYY too cartoonish. But, it's all there is for now, so I'll bite the bullet and make do.
Also...I'll take those "dated graphics" any day of the year, if they include regular updates and communication from the dev team as well as the quality of life improvements that game had that this game STILL sorely lacks.
Occam's Razor makes the cutting clean.
PVP is starving without rewards
1. Please give us Daily PVP missions that reward Questionite.
2. Please give us an exchange rate between Acclaim and Recognition so that PVP has access to all "On Alert" PVE rewards.
yes piranha games in canada.
They are an indie game studio that answer to NO ONE and currently have mechwarrior online open beta running on cry engine 3 and are doing an awesome job so far.
and they are hiring as well..
The Nemesis system needs fixing and here's ideas:
A business that makes nothing but money is a poor business. Henry Ford
Hrmmm...tough question. I've played The Secret World, and I don't much care for it other than the one shining jewel of the game.
It's storyline. Dear gods, they've got a writer and a half. The world looks pretty decent, but the character models need so much love it's pathetic.
.........I can't think of a game company other than Paragon that would do justice to the City of IP.
Wait.....
Rockstar. They might just be able to pull it off.
Occam's Razor makes the cutting clean.
Too bad the gameplay is smoke and mirrors -- all flexible and choose your own way until you hit a brick wall at endgame and it's the usual threesome raiding.
Wicks and Things: NW-DI4FMZRR4 : The Fenwick merchant family has lost a caravan! Can you help?
Beggar's Hollow: NW-DR6YG4J2L : Someone, or something, has stolen away many of the Fenwicks' children! Can you find out what happened to them?
Into the Fen Wood: NW-DL89DRG7B : Enter the heart of the forest. Can you discover the secret of the Fen Wood?
I personally hated the conversations because you just get talked at all day. You're a mute. Or just very shy. Which is not becoming of a "super hero". :P
Wicks and Things: NW-DI4FMZRR4 : The Fenwick merchant family has lost a caravan! Can you help?
Beggar's Hollow: NW-DR6YG4J2L : Someone, or something, has stolen away many of the Fenwicks' children! Can you find out what happened to them?
Into the Fen Wood: NW-DL89DRG7B : Enter the heart of the forest. Can you discover the secret of the Fen Wood?
Champs though, can leave a lot to be desired.
"Stop, villain!"
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
"NEVER!"
Ew elves. ;P
I want to say that I'm being completely objective. I find nothing remarkable about that screenshot, at all. I see a stone room and some plants in it. The lighting is bland. It all looks dark and muddy (mossy?) like Lemurian dungeons in this game. I honestly don't see the anything worth writing home about there.
I'm not huge on environments, but, one of my favorite places in Champions is the area north of Renaissance Center. It has a real nice warm vibe. Whiteout also has cool environments (pardon the pun), with the snowstorm really giving it a good feel. Lemuria looks beautiful (too bad I hate underwater levels!).
Most of what I experienced in City was very cold urban environments, much like the east side of Millennium City. I played the game for over a year, and that's my takeaway from it. Cold and lifeless. That place to the east I think, where there it looked like a city that had been through an earthquake was pretty neat, but, not mindblowing.
Also, have you fought Therakiel?
(Keep in mind, just sharing opinions, I'm not trying to say yours is wrong because I like something different.)
While auras would be nice, I personally don't think they bring too much into the game. Could be that I'm a fan of classic comic books where every hero was not glowing or on fire or whatever.
I wouldn't say marginally better, not by a longshot. Again, opinion, but, City characters always looked stiff to me, no actual character to them.
On your second point here, I dunno. I would have never gone back to City just for the story or updates. Visual quality is important to me, but moreso gameplay, but that's beside the point. Someone mentioned that at least Champs isn't as cartoony as WoW is. I very largely prefer stylized graphics, and wish Champs was moreso. Hell I wish it was way more like what Borderlands looks like. Pen-ink lines and shading, kinda like a comic book. Perish the thought!
Hahahahaha. Really. I read the balloons faster than the actors speak.
"G.R.A.B. is here to [squints at writer's awful penmanship] relieve you of your heavy burdens!"
They're not there in the beginning, but when your story ends / Gonna last with you longer than your friends
The voice actors seem to read their dialogue paragraph by paragraph, just look a Hi-Pan's dialogue from his first appearance, the "bah...MCP" part doesn't even remotely flow into the next set. Also Defenders dialogue in the same mission the "good work hero..." doesn't flow into the "lets trap these miscreants between us" part.
Part of the problem since December, 2012.
You kinda have to have the lines/paragraphs in different files to accommodate the scene building process, but therein lies the problem...
...the problem is that for the most part, the voice acting is okay, but the person putting together the cutscene is either not good at the beat and timing of the conversations, or there's some kind of technical limitation. But I'm guessing it's the latter.
While foundry cutscenes would be fun for players, the devs would clearly benefit from better cutscene tools. This might also help with all the cutscene bugs we get all the time.
PVP is starving without rewards
1. Please give us Daily PVP missions that reward Questionite.
2. Please give us an exchange rate between Acclaim and Recognition so that PVP has access to all "On Alert" PVE rewards.
Oops, I actually meant to say it was the former, not the latter, but I really don't know how much of a hack job it all is.
It's not a hoax (unless March 25th is now April Fools Day), but it doesn't mean that Cryptic is buying CoH back.
It just means that Jack wants (or said he wants) to buy CoH. That's all.
Whether NCSoft takes him up on that offer (or even acknowledges that he made the offer, or even learns that he made the offer) is another mater entirely.
"It is unthinkable. But such is the nature of villainy, don't you think? To do the unthinkable, to challenge the impossible, to conquer all before you and make destiny your own." - Ghost Widow
And that's why I like villains.
I think Champions is a far superior game in my opinion but City deserves a better than the fate it got
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!