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Champions that other Cryptic MMO
magnumstar
Posts: 226 Arc User
I have recently returned to Champions online after a 6mo tour of duty over at STO and an additional 3mo hiatus playing NWNO. After 9mos absence I expected to see lots of new content and features, imagine my disappointment on discovering not much had changed since I left. It appears CO has taken a backseat to Cryptic's other titles, which have had major updates, features, and expansions while CO has been left to languish on the shelf. The only truly noticeable change I have seen has been a drastic decline in player population. With very little new content in that span of time I have been gone it isn't surprising this is so. CO is now suffering the same disease that has afflicted the KDF faction of STO.
Time and money have to be spent in order to cure the problems CO is now facing. And I have a few suggestions on tweaks and content that will help.
Alert System
This was a great idea and more properly fits how a superhero responds to criminal activity. Very few comics depict a superhero fighting crime by way of a contact. While the alerts are fun to do and a great way to level they still need some polishing. More villains need to be added along with renaming and recategorizing the alerts to better match the crime being committed. These are ---
Smash & Grab
Any crime committed by the supervillain that involves a theft or robbery.
Bank Robbery, Museum Heist, Bayou Queen
Mayhem Alert
Anything that is wanton destruction or is endangering the public.
Recruiting Drive, Soul Syphon, Train Stopping, Dockside Dustup, Two Minute Drill, Radiation Rumble
Assault Alert
Anytime a supervillain invades or takes over a building or geographical area.
Fighting City Hall, Red Winter, Harmon Labs, Stitch in Time, A Day at the Mall
Rampage Alert
This alert is for those villains of the cosmic level that are bent on causing wanton destruction on epic scale. So far all we have is Gravitar to content with but more need to be added. I recommend all the cosmic villains be added to this alert and that the old time gated method of confronting them be done away with.
Strike Force Alert
One of the downsides to the alert system was it killed all the 5 man contact missions. I recommend these be added to the alert system. Add Andrith, Therakiels Temple, Teleois, and the rest and make them level 40 missions.
One of the problems I have with the alert system is why does it take a team of 5 to take down a supervillain I single handedly defeated in earlier content? The alerts don't make you feel very heroic structured this way, in fact you tend to feel like a sidekick who has teamed with other sidekicks to confront a single supervillain. Bayou Queen is the only alert that is structured where 5 heroes face off against 5 villains and it is by far the most enjoyable to do since you actually feel heroic doing it. Red Winter comes close but fails due to the fact you face each villain individually rather than all at once. A single superhero should be able to confront a lone villain, the only time a hero should need company is if they're facing more than one villain or a villain of cosmic level. The alerts need to be divided into single player and team alerts, scale back the difficulty for the single alerts and add more villains for the team ones and restructure them so we are facing off against all villains at once.
Another negative by-product of the alert system is it has drained all the zones of players. Other than MC you can literally count the number of people on one hand that are in the other zones. When you can level without visiting any of them why bother. I suggest that alerts be tied to the various zones, in other words you have to visit say Vibora Bay to do the dockside dustup alert. Canada alerts would be in Canada, Lemuria alerts in Lemuria, etc. You could in addition tie them to level just as the zones are kind of setup that way. Something needs to be done or why bother having the other zones?
The alerts need to expanded on and more villains and scenarios added to the lineup of those we currently have. There are numerous supervillains in game that haven't been used yet and there are tons of criminal situations that could be created to flesh out the alerts.
Features
A feature the other titles have I'd like to see added to CO is the ability to change characters without logging all the way out.
Lockboxes
I haven't spent a dime on lockboxes here on CO. I have on the other titles. That's because there isn't much in the CO lockboxes I want or desire. Vehicles, custom pieces, and fluff don't interest me. And from the looks of the game not much money is being made off them, I'm sure it's partly the reason for the lack of new content. A better reward for a lockbox would be say 25-50 ability points you could spend on your character, add 1-2advantage points and Cryptic would sell more lockboxes in one day than the did in the last six months prior. In the other titles the lockboxes have items that make you more powerful or make you unique (Ships for STO & magical items in NWNO). In order for a hero to become more powerful they need to raise their ability scores and have more advantages.
That's all I can think of right now but if I remember something I left out I'll add it. Feel free to add your own ideas. All we can do is ask that changes be made, hopefully someone will listen.
Time and money have to be spent in order to cure the problems CO is now facing. And I have a few suggestions on tweaks and content that will help.
Alert System
This was a great idea and more properly fits how a superhero responds to criminal activity. Very few comics depict a superhero fighting crime by way of a contact. While the alerts are fun to do and a great way to level they still need some polishing. More villains need to be added along with renaming and recategorizing the alerts to better match the crime being committed. These are ---
Smash & Grab
Any crime committed by the supervillain that involves a theft or robbery.
Bank Robbery, Museum Heist, Bayou Queen
Mayhem Alert
Anything that is wanton destruction or is endangering the public.
Recruiting Drive, Soul Syphon, Train Stopping, Dockside Dustup, Two Minute Drill, Radiation Rumble
Assault Alert
Anytime a supervillain invades or takes over a building or geographical area.
Fighting City Hall, Red Winter, Harmon Labs, Stitch in Time, A Day at the Mall
Rampage Alert
This alert is for those villains of the cosmic level that are bent on causing wanton destruction on epic scale. So far all we have is Gravitar to content with but more need to be added. I recommend all the cosmic villains be added to this alert and that the old time gated method of confronting them be done away with.
Strike Force Alert
One of the downsides to the alert system was it killed all the 5 man contact missions. I recommend these be added to the alert system. Add Andrith, Therakiels Temple, Teleois, and the rest and make them level 40 missions.
One of the problems I have with the alert system is why does it take a team of 5 to take down a supervillain I single handedly defeated in earlier content? The alerts don't make you feel very heroic structured this way, in fact you tend to feel like a sidekick who has teamed with other sidekicks to confront a single supervillain. Bayou Queen is the only alert that is structured where 5 heroes face off against 5 villains and it is by far the most enjoyable to do since you actually feel heroic doing it. Red Winter comes close but fails due to the fact you face each villain individually rather than all at once. A single superhero should be able to confront a lone villain, the only time a hero should need company is if they're facing more than one villain or a villain of cosmic level. The alerts need to be divided into single player and team alerts, scale back the difficulty for the single alerts and add more villains for the team ones and restructure them so we are facing off against all villains at once.
Another negative by-product of the alert system is it has drained all the zones of players. Other than MC you can literally count the number of people on one hand that are in the other zones. When you can level without visiting any of them why bother. I suggest that alerts be tied to the various zones, in other words you have to visit say Vibora Bay to do the dockside dustup alert. Canada alerts would be in Canada, Lemuria alerts in Lemuria, etc. You could in addition tie them to level just as the zones are kind of setup that way. Something needs to be done or why bother having the other zones?
The alerts need to expanded on and more villains and scenarios added to the lineup of those we currently have. There are numerous supervillains in game that haven't been used yet and there are tons of criminal situations that could be created to flesh out the alerts.
Features
A feature the other titles have I'd like to see added to CO is the ability to change characters without logging all the way out.
Lockboxes
I haven't spent a dime on lockboxes here on CO. I have on the other titles. That's because there isn't much in the CO lockboxes I want or desire. Vehicles, custom pieces, and fluff don't interest me. And from the looks of the game not much money is being made off them, I'm sure it's partly the reason for the lack of new content. A better reward for a lockbox would be say 25-50 ability points you could spend on your character, add 1-2advantage points and Cryptic would sell more lockboxes in one day than the did in the last six months prior. In the other titles the lockboxes have items that make you more powerful or make you unique (Ships for STO & magical items in NWNO). In order for a hero to become more powerful they need to raise their ability scores and have more advantages.
That's all I can think of right now but if I remember something I left out I'll add it. Feel free to add your own ideas. All we can do is ask that changes be made, hopefully someone will listen.
Post edited by magnumstar on
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My super cool CC build and how to use it.
I just don't really get it. STO, the sister ship of CO, has had numerous content updates, new stories and is just plain fun.
I wish the CO folks would take a look across the cubes to see what they're doing over there. I've been here since the beginning and love CO (and CoX) before it and really just want it to be fun again.
Vehicles - Not fun for me at least
New Silly Headgear - just silly
Alerts - ok as a diversion
New Zones ? Waiting
New Costumes ? Waiting
New Villains? Waiting
New Comic Series - Shouldn't these, at lease, be on a schedule or are they done and gone?
Thank you for letting me vent a little.
STO has a major corporation owning the IP and can easily afford to bankroll major updates to STO. NW has a similar situation. CO just has Cryptic to toss money at it, since it completely owns the online IP rights. So expect the other two Cryptic MMOs to get more work done on them.
On the flipside... STO and NW are likewise beholden to said corporate overlords. If they don't do good, the overlords could terminate the contracts licensing the IP and they would close.
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2. STO is swimming in the content, this much is true, but I've recently returned to that game for something to do(hadn't played since beta, had to make a character) and it's not all the roses people like to make it out to be. STO, despite it's 60 person strong army of devs, has it's share of problems as well(daresay as many as CO except there's no shortage of content atm) Actually, now having the insight of playing all three games it makes the overall communications disconnect that some people on these forums have been hinting at for years seem that much more viable.
The problem, IMO, is communication. When the three titles are put side by side then patterns emerge. For two examples let's look at it like this...
The Auction House:
CO < STO < NW(minus the AD bit, just purely it's functionality)
but on the other side of the coin...
Customization:
NW < STO < CO
And then you look at ingame mechanics, bugs, and forum requests and here's just some minor examples.
-STO has a mission with a gladitorial games with narration that happens during the fights.
-CO/NW have a functioning /who command system.
-CO/STO have a vendor that doesn't lock you out of the rest of the UI and Chat.
-STO has SKIPPABLE CUTSCENES.
-STO/NW have a Campaign System(New Romulus and The Feywild) with an Alternate Advancement System.
-CO has/had the fixes to alot of the beta/launch bugs that plagued NW.
-STO knew about and had the Dilithium Exploits which would go on to hit NW despite player warnings.
-STO/NW Have an interesting task based minion crafting system. NW's is better designed for flow and usage and STOs has location specific and mission specific tasks which are more interesting(not to mention some of them unlock additional hidden missions). CO has nothing(mod combining does not count).
...and this is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg but I suspect you see where I'm going with this.
Point being, while I do like alot of what Cryptic North is bringing to the table and I am somewhat understanding(everything has a limit) that they're building up speed while working on mostly Bug Repairs, Balance, and QoG changes(these being the main reason for my current patience) I simply feel that there are major disconnects between the three titles and that if communications were opened up more internally then all three projects could benefit from the sharing of certain ideas and designs.
In Closing, and in reguards to STO Seasons, I feel that the CO mini-MEGA-events have been established. There is, IMO, enough of them to run a schedule(and put April Fools, Roxstar, and some of the others back in the mix as well) so it's time to shift CO to a more episodic stance as well. It's time to move the storyline. It's time to churn out the content and lore. It's time for the return of Dr. Destroyer. It's time for The Crowns of Krim. It's time for MECHANON. It's time for The Mayoral Elections in MC. At the same time it's also about time CO got it's Campaign Map/Zone like Hudson City, The Moon, Japan, or whatever. This is the focus I would love to see for 2014...as well as more Z-store costume sets, bug repairs, balancing, expansion of existing systems(Unity, Nemesis, Hideouts, and so on). 2014, IMO, is the proving grounds of Cryptic North. They've done well so far but this is the test as I see it....and I hope they ace it. Until next time.
Join Date: Aug 2009 | Title: Devslayer
The IP that they are based upon, and make a lot of profit from, are owned by other groups.
Deliciously nutritious!
But not with STO or NW. Other is owned by Hasbro and other by CBS Studios.
And playing by myself since Aug 2009
Godtier: Lifetime Subscriber
I knew the IP's for STO and NW were owned by others and Cryptic was leasing them. But neither company that owns those IP's are spending (bankrolling) any money on Cryptic's titles, its the other way around Cryptic has to pay them to use the IP. And I get that since they do have to pay they are going spend the money to make sure those titles are successful. But you'd think with CO where the IP is bought and they're not spending money monthly, annually to use it that they could find some of that money they aren't spending and invest it in the game (CO).
So yeah... keeping STO and NWO up to stuff makes sense for Cryptic when its previous lord and master got burned for failing to do so.
I've been thinking about this myself lately.
NWO's controls are hands-down the worst I've ever used in any MMO including several flash-based browser-only MMOs. In particular, needing to "pause" the user interface (via alt or escape) in order to interact with the menu items is mind-bogglingly bizarre. STO has that as an option (usually referred to as "shooter mode") for ground combat, but NWO makes it mandatory.
Champions has by far the most generous zen prices (with a few exceptions like the catalysts and high-tier mods) and NWO the worst (up to 3,500 zen for a mount or companion that is only for use by one character compared to STO's 2,500 for a ship that every character can use or CO's 1,800 vehicle that is account bound so can be shared).
But when I look at the details within, I see some interesting things. Like NWO's queued activities are level bracketed and there are some you can outlevel and never do again. STO and CO scale the player to the activity, though some have a minimum level to join.
CO's Alerts and NWO's queues are all pretty simplified tank-and-spank affairs. STO and CO's featured alerts (Cybermind, Harbinger, etc) at least have stages of activity though STO does this far better than either of the other two games.
STO ground combat has a built-in flanking system, everyone can res a teammate as a built-in power, and the whole expose/exploit system is very elegant. NWO has their "red patches" for big powers that you need to move out of. CO has the NPC charge ups (Freem, Boom, BANG, etc), but some specialization trees give flanking damage bonuses, and there are cones etc just not marked with a visible danger zone before they appear.
And of course there's that other thread about the crafting change coming to NWO that would fit perfectly here in CO as well for all the same reasons. STO could badly use an upgrade to it's crafting too.
I can't help but think if they could borrow from each other more commonly, there's so much incredibly cool stuff they could all use.
STO similar.
NW is a F2P game, strictly Free 2 Pay for everything.This is why they have Founders/knights etc packs for each module as well as new stuff between.
NW also seems to have a problem with Nvidia and AMD video cards, going on the amount of complaints in tech support on the forums.
My problem, Nvidia, it crashes just before the character selection screen, sicne I not going to reinstall the whole bloodyu thing for a 1 line levelling game, ending in gear grind dungeons, I just uninstalled it
ON the IP's, Cryptic has to please the owners of the IPs in order to keep their licence. The IP owners don't spend any money on the game. I think TT mentioned they have meetings each Tuesday to go over with them, upcoming stuff to get it ok'd.
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Boss AI is sad. Not a whole lot of attacks, not many special moves based on certain conditions. One-shot abilities are lazy and don't make an enemy challenging.
What if Gravitar just randomly kicked someone standing behind her with those stiletto boots and cause bleeding or flung them back? Or both? What if she randomly ran over to that annoying ranged dps hiding in the fountain and slapped them, knocking them over and stunning them? What if she flew up in the air and rained Gravity Cascades all over the map that you had to run from? What if she actually moved around the damn map? She has all of six attacks and three of them are bubbles.
The new rampage is just as bad. No intelligent AI at all. No reason to move and the fire cage discourages it anyway. What's the point in adding this if it's going to be boring?
Probably one of my favorite boss fights is Artorias the Abysswalker. When teamed up for this fight, he's much more aggressive and switches targets without warning. He has a variety of moves and no pattern you can pick out. He switches between single target and AoE attacks, he has a power-up that can be interrupted, he dodges, and he actually moves around the map. Even the Sanctuary Guardian (chimera) and Kalameet (dragon), who have ranged attacks, move around the map. (A lot in the Sanctuary Guardian's case.)
Speaking of the Sanctuary Guardian, that's a boss that really uses the environment to do damage. The map is mostly covered with shallow water and he uses lightning balls. Lightning that hits the water spreads out for splash damage. Even if you avoid the attack, you could take damage if you're still close to the impact. Why can't Fire and Ice do something like that? Two bosses wreaking the city and they can't burst a water pipe or rupture a gas line? Gas is explosive. A fire attack near it and kaboom! Heroes in the area go flying. Standing in some shallow water? An ice attack freezes it, locking a toon in place and doing damage until they break out.
I can't name a single boss fight in CO that really involves action. Mostly, it's just standing around and smacking HP sacks until they fall over. Gravitar has a little bit with the bubbles, but if you have a beefy-ish character, it's easier just to block. From my understanding, Cybermind has some player movement to stay in the proper squares. (Haven't played it yet.) Most bosses don't even move around much, if at all. Melee bosses are sort of an exception in that they'll move with the aggro hog, but if that person isn't moving, neither are they. Divana Hawk is probably the most jumpy boss with her EM, but doesn't really use it all that often.
If Cryptic is going to claim this is an action MMO, they should put some action into it.
[at]riviania Member since Aug 2009
I'm going to have to disagree that this is indeed an action MMO.
However, I'm going to agree wholeheartedly that the things that enemies do is very unintuitive, save for random enemies calling for backup and drawing the attention of an adjacent mob.
The only mob I'm aware of moving around or doing things in the environment is Steel Commando, Robot Destroyer and Kevin Poe for crying out loud.
I completely Agree with you, Sterga. But this part make me smile a bit because I read "Sanctuary Guardian" and immediately thought of This Guy and he is one of those bosses that keeps you on your feet.. much like Sanctuary Guardian.
Never played FF10 because Tidus looks like a blond Squall and I hated Squall. I don't know why anyone thought it was a good idea to have a depressing, low self-esteem, crybaby be a main character.
[at]riviania Member since Aug 2009
Honestly? I get the hate that it receives. Tidus's voice gets annoying at times, plotholes are gaping, the Sphere Grid is horrendous if you want to have diversity and the weapon/armor customization doesn't really have any use save for the auto abilities. But it's still my second fave in the series (First game I ever played too..).
As for Tidus looking like Squall? ....oh god no. Don't even bring up that idea!
Still say the best part of Kingdom Hearts games (and Dissidia) is beating the hell outta Squall. (AS GOLBEZE! woo!)