Filed under: City of Heroes

City of Heroes announces Secret Admirer Contest

by Rubi Bayer Feb 5th 2010 at 9:00AM

Filed under: Super-hero, City of Heroes, Contests, News items

Valentine's Day is just around the corner, and City of Heroes is ready and willing to help you woo your sweetheart. Well, as long as your sweetheart is the War Witch -- anyone else and you're on your own.

They're making it worth your while, though. The City of Heroes Secret Admirer Contest invites you to create a digital or homemade Valentine's Day card for the War Witch and submit it for the chance to win some great prizes. While we can't guarantee that the lady herself will be presenting you with her phone number, three people in each category (homemade and digital) will be presented with prize packages including Logitech gaming headsets and a pile of CoH goodies.

The contest is going on now and will last until the submission deadline of February 28th. Take a look at all the rules and regulations here, and good luck to you!

Will improved City of Heroes graphics come before Going Rogue?

by Eliot Lefebvre Feb 4th 2010 at 9:00PM

Filed under: Super-hero, City of Heroes, City of Villains, Expansions, Rumors

Apparently not content with his most recent contest, Sean "Dr. Aeon" McCann decided that he would use the official City of Heroes forums to declare a war upon television. Really, it's not that unusual for the game's forums, which tend to be on the friendly and silly side; what is a bit more unusual is the carrot being offered. His promise is that if readers join him in his war against television (which, to be fair, is a fine war), the game's "Ultra Mode" will be released to all players prior to Going Rogue.

Silly? Of course it is, McCann isn't even on the same team in charge of the graphical upgrade. Except that there has been a persistent rumor that the upgrade, revealed at Hero-Con along with the groundswell of Going Rogue information, will be going live before the expansion's launch anyway. Of course, McCann himself points out that he couldn't possibly follow up on his promise... which could mean that he knows something will happen. Or it could be the resident mad scientist of City of Heroes being his usual impish self. Either way, this rumor has a bit more meat on its bones, so players might want to go ahead and keep an eye on that thread.

[ Thanks to Informant D for the tip! ]

New City of Heroes Mission Architect contest leaves everyone powerless

by Eliot Lefebvre Feb 4th 2010 at 10:00AM

Filed under: Super-hero, City of Heroes, City of Villains, Contests, Game mechanics, News items

If there's one storyline that comic book writers love coming back to, and there certainly is, it's the idea of the main characters losing their abilities. Seeing whether or not heroes can overcome challenges without their gifts, or if villains are as dangerous when merely mortal, gives a lot of definition to normally superhuman antics. It's time for creators in City of Heroes to take on that trope, because the latest Mission Architect contest is all about taking the power away from the best-known champions of the city or the isles.

The contest, running until February 24th, requires an arc centered around a known figure losing their powers, be they hero or villain. If that's not enough to capture the feel, though, the arc is meant for the lowest possible level band of 5-10. There's also a brief reminder that part of the goal is to stretch one's legs, and that the best arcs will likely incorporate features not generally found in low-level content. As with the prior contest, the prize is a permanent title and a potential Developer's Choice pick for the arc, so City of Heroes players should start thinking about what would be a fun way to be unempowered.

A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Death to the warehouse map!

by Eliot Lefebvre Feb 3rd 2010 at 6:00PM

Filed under: Super-hero, City of Heroes, City of Villains, Culture, Game mechanics, Endgame, Opinion, A Mild-Mannered Reporter

If you've played City of Heroes from levels 1 to anything, you already know the map I'm talking about. The more levels you've been through, the more you've seen it. Heck, you probably knew exactly what map I was talking about just from the subject line, because... well, it's the warehouse map.

As I was thinking about this week's column, I was trying to figure out why it is that City of Heroes gets criticized as often as it does for being "repetitive." I'd gladly concede the point, but the follow-up question becomes, well, what's so inherently different between the gameplay here as opposed to World of Warcraft, or EverQuest II, or Lord of the Rings Online, or even Dungeons and Dragons Online? How is killing X of critter Y for questgiver Z in any way less repetitive than punching the Fifth Column around for the hundredth time?

But with the recent addition of Melissa "War Witch" Bianco as lead designer, with her promises of "more content," I formed at least part of an idea of why that pointless accusation will not go away. And I believe the blame can be laid squarely at the feet of that stupid warehouse map.

The Spring Fling is on in City of Heroes

by Eliot Lefebvre Feb 3rd 2010 at 10:00AM

Filed under: Super-hero, City of Heroes, City of Villains, Culture, Events, in-game, News items

It's time for heroes and villains to put aside their differences once again in the name of love. Or the name of temporary powers and costume pieces, if you're the cynical sort. City of Heroes is going to host its Spring Fling once again, running from February 9th until March 2nd, and as usual it focuses on bringing opposites together under one roof. Because at the end of the day, aren't villains and heroes really two sides of the same coin? She fights crime, he robs banks, she defends the innocent, he sets fire to orphanages?

Well, all right, but whether you like it or not the event requires differences to be set aside in order to make the most of the holiday. Both villains and heroes get their own mission arcs, but each arc requires at least one person of the opposite faction to complete the chain. In addition, the temporary buff power Dimension Drops only provides its full benefit when used upon someone of the opposite faction, further encouraging everyone to work together. The official event preview page gives plenty of details on rewards and storylines, so head on over for an overview, and start thinking about which of your mortal enemies in City of Heroes is the most palatable partner.

City of Heroes announces holiday contest winners

by Eliot Lefebvre Jan 31st 2010 at 8:00PM

Filed under: Super-hero, Screenshots, City of Heroes, Contests, Player Housing

As Christmas recedes into memory, it's easy to forget about the stress of the various celebrations and just remember the nicer parts of the holiday. For our characters in City of Heroes, of course, the holidays saw yet another onslaught by elemental minions of ice seeking to spread permanent winter. But the pot was sweetened a touch by the addition of the holiday contest, a chance for players to decorate their base or alter their costume in such a way that they became a bit more seasonally appropriate.

Just a bit over a month out, the winners of the contest have been announced, and it takes only a quick glance at the artistry involved to see why. Bases were transformed from fortresses of solitude into... well, they were still sort of fortresses of solitude, but now they had appropriate decorations hanging from the icicles. Meanwhile, characters were transformed into crime-fighting ski bunnies and workshop elves. Giving City of Heroes players a chance to work their creativity almost always results in some excellent material, so feel free to take a look at the official page listing the winners and screenshots of each.

Free transfers in City of Heroes extending another month

by Eliot Lefebvre Jan 31st 2010 at 3:00PM

Filed under: Super-hero, City of Heroes, News items

Back in December, City of Heroes announced that players would be allowed to transfer characters between servers for free until the end of January. Aside from the small but vocal part of the population that was certain this was a prelude to server merges, it was met with praise and good will by the playerbase. Paragon Studios has apparently decided that what's fun the first time is even better the second, as they've decided to extend the free transfers until February 28th for all players.

Of course, there are certain slight catches -- as before, you can only transfer six characters from one server to another within a week, as well as not being allowed between American and European servers. You also lose your Supergroup affiliation, any accumulated Prestige, and possibly even your name depending on the server you choose. The full support page details all of the possible wrinkles, as well as warning against trying to transfer characters with names shorter than three letters (unless you don't mind losing the name). Having more chances to play with friends on other servers is always welcome, so kudos to the City of Heroes team for extending the free transfer period!

Interview sheds more light on latest City of Heroes guest authors

by Eliot Lefebvre Jan 28th 2010 at 11:00AM

Filed under: Super-hero, City of Heroes, City of Villains, Culture, Events, in-game, Interviews, Opinion

With the recent introduction of three new arcs in the guest author series, City of Heroes gets to enjoy a bit more time in the limelight thanks to the Mission Architect system. The arcs are currently available on the live servers, and while they won't provide weeks of enjoyment, they'll certainly pass a fair bit of time and be a fun ride in the process. Gamepro recently had the opportunity to talk to the newest guest authors about their experience working on the arcs and playing the game.

If there's one unifying strand to all of the author comments, it's that working on Mission Architect doesn't just help create content, it forces creators to train themselves to write better. With limitations on how much speech can appear and when, all three authors mention that it forces the story down to its essentials. But it's not a limiting factor in making things weaker -- rather, it forces you to craft something that's entertaining even without a lot of flowery dialogue.

The full interview also covers each author's experiences in balancing the arcs, as well as Ms. Lackey's discussion of her history as a player. Whether you've already experienced the new City of Heroes arcs or have yet to take them for a spin, it's clear that a great deal of thought and effort went into them.

A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Community guide to City of Heroes

by Eliot Lefebvre Jan 27th 2010 at 4:00PM

Filed under: Super-hero, City of Heroes, City of Villains, Guides, Opinion, A Mild-Mannered Reporter

Welcome to A Mild-Mannered Reporter, Massively's new weekly column all about City of Heroes! We were originally going to spin you a dynamic yarn about how I had watched my parents die, then spent years training in secret to strike fear into the hearts of criminals by writing about video games, but that was eliminated during the concept stage due to copyright infringement. Instead, we're just going with a column.

For our first installment, we're highlighting a number of sites that are useful in one way or another to the City of Heroes playerbase. While the game has enjoyed quite a lifespan, the web presence on it has been a bit more limited than some other games, probably due in no small part to the fact that it's much easier to simply pick up and play. That doesn't mean there's nothing here, though -- the community has developed a number of excellent tools and community gathering points to improve everyone's experience in Paragon City or the Rogue Isles. Take a look at what we've looked at and see as the highlights.

City of Heroes announces next guest authors

by Eliot Lefebvre Jan 26th 2010 at 9:00AM

Filed under: Super-hero, City of Heroes, City of Villains, Game mechanics, Quests, News items

Back in October, City of Heroes players got a treat in the form of three arcs created by high-profile creative minds. The Guest Author program used the Mission Architect system and gave players the enjoyment of working through missions scripted by authors known outside of the realm of Paragon City. We haven't heard much about the program since then, and so it might have seemed as if the feature had been forgotten, but it turns out it was simply in brief hibernation, as the official site has announced the next group of writers.

Mercedes Lackey (known for her series of fantasy novels set in Valdemar), Troy Hickman (known for the meta-superhero series Common Grounds), and Austin Grossman (longtime writer of video games and author of Soon I Will Be Invincible) make up the next batch of guest writers crafting their own arcs in City of Heroes. Two of the arcs should be live today (assuming you're reading this on January 26th), according to a small supplementary piece which includes a few words from Sean McCann. It's good to see the game continuing to emphasize and enhance the experience of user-created content, and players should look forward to some high-profile names continuing to take their swing at it.

City of Heroes unveils the full biography of Tyrant

by Eliot Lefebvre Jan 23rd 2010 at 8:00PM

Filed under: Super-hero, City of Heroes, City of Villains, Expansions, Lore, Previews

In Paragon City, the living embodiment of what it means to be a superhero is Statesman. And it's hard to argue with that -- he's a combination of Superman and Captain America in one superhuman package, the apex of what a hero can aspire to be. But in the upcoming City of Heroes expansion, Going Rogue, the man behind the mask took a very different turn. Tyrant is neither villain nor hero, but a dictator whose rule over a parallel Earth is absolute. He has created a utopian, flawless world, held in place by his strength of arms and of will. And to no great surprise, he's received a full writeup on the official City of Heroes page for the upcoming expansion.

Tyrant's timeline is a far darker one than took place in the real world, including the deployment of nuclear weapons in the Korean War and a full-scale onslaught of enraged elementals. His full biography traces an alternate history in a way that at least provides a glimpse into the mind of someone who chose to enforce world peace through absolute control, highlighting many of the moral gray areas on display in Going Rogue. Read the full dossier here, and perhaps start designing a Justice Lord costume for your favorite hero.

City of Heroes unveils new lead designer

by Eliot Lefebvre Jan 21st 2010 at 6:00PM

Filed under: Super-hero, City of Heroes, City of Villains, Expansions, Interviews, News items

It's been a quiet week on Lake Salamanca... well, actually, all across City of Heroes, when you get right down to it. For those of us not on the inside, it looked as if nothing of interest was happening with the game. But that's apparently quite far from the truth, since it appears there have been quite a few internal shakeups over the holiday season and most of the month.

Matt Miller, longtime lead designer of City of Heroes, has passed the mantle on to Melissa Bianco. Miller is continuing to work on the game, but will be involved in rather vaguely-described endgame systems as well as some undisclosed projects. Bianco (also known as "War Witch" in keeping with the developer nicknaming scheme) has already given an interview on her plans and the state of CoH, with promises of new content before and after Going Rogue goes live.

And speaking of Going Rogue, we're promised more frequent pieces of information on the expansion, which has seen very little revealed since its announcement. There's also an opportunity to take part in a community Q&A with Bianco. The quiet week seems to be over... which is really for the best, when you get right down to it.

The community of architects in City of Heroes

by Eliot Lefebvre Jan 10th 2010 at 4:00PM

Filed under: Super-hero, City of Heroes, City of Villains, Culture, Game mechanics, Opinion

If there's one thing that City of Heroes has become known for, it's the Mission Architect system. The player-generated content spans a huge number of adventures, ranging from the silly to the sublime. It's also robust enough in its search function that it's essentially added another venue of content into the game. The official site recently highlighted a feature in The Escapist, interviewing a number of community members and acclaimed users of the system about its ups, downs, and the overall experience.

The system has faced a few problems -- abuse of it early on led to bans and some content removal, since it's easy when creating content to be too generous with the rewards and too light with the difficulty. There's also the issue of inappropriate content, and of course the possibility that a large portion of what's available just isn't all that good. The full piece highlights some of the better arcs available (including more than a few Developer's Choice missions, which were selected as being good enough to qualify as official content), as well as the efforts and reasoning behind the more popular creators and what they've built. Matt Miller was quoted as saying that players did in one day with the system what it took the developers five years to accomplish. Quite an argument in favor of player-created content, that.

City of Heroes offers a reminder on account security

by Eliot Lefebvre Jan 6th 2010 at 8:00PM

Filed under: Super-hero, City of Heroes, Culture, Exploits, Rumors

NCsoft hasn't been having an easy start to the year, at least not in the eyes of security-minded players. The entire Guild Wars security question recently came to a head with suspicions and accusations that the flaw was something wrong with NCsoft's account management, a black eye if ever there was one. Of course, that raises questions about not just Guild Wars, but any game under the company's aegis, which includes City of Heroes. So it should come as little surprise that a reminder about account security has recently been posted on the official site.

The reminder itself is fairly standard boilerplate, reminding everyone to avoid giving out their account information to any other players, only log in from secure locations, and so forth. It also addresses the issue at hand in a roundabout fashion, mentioning that they found no malicious workarounds after investigating "current claims." However, the very next line mentions that they have added more robust logging and security procedures, which can lead to the obvious conspiracy theories. With fewer items to be traded than many other games, City of Heroes has a smidge more built-in security -- but a little extra reminder and caution never hurts.

Why You Should Be Playing City of Heroes: Content on demand

by Eliot Lefebvre Dec 28th 2009 at 7:00PM

Filed under: Super-hero, City of Heroes, City of Villains, Game mechanics, Opinion, Why You Should Be Playing

With all the talk about the Skirmish system in Lord of the Rings Online and the World of Warcraft dungeon finder, it's hard to argue that people don't really like having the option to simply pick up and start playing something. Both of these systems thrive on the strength of their pick-up-and-play nature -- you don't have to wait to find a group, you just jump right into content without any slowdown. The obvious question, then, becomes "why didn't someone notice that people like to just jumping in and playing the darn game?"

Of course,the full answer is a bit less obvious but no less true: someone did. Several someones, in fact. Paragon Studios and Cryptic before them both realized how much people like to just pick up and go. That's why City of Heroes currently sports three different systems to allow you or a full team access to content quickly, ranging from reliving your character's greatest triumphs to fighting Nazi vampires on the moon.