Filed under: Super-hero

Champions Online's Bill Roper talks about the future of CO

by Rubi Bayer Nov 5th 2009 at 8:00PM

Filed under: Super-hero, Interviews, News items, Champions Online

Bill Roper is the Executive Producer and Design Director for Champions Online, and he sat down with Techulous this week for a talk about how things are going for the game so far and what he sees in its future.

He talked about about the players, their feedback, and what's been happening in Champions Online so far, then Techulous got down to the big question: what's next?

Champions Online has big plans for the next few months, including some new content for all levels of players. He mentioned the two brand new mission chains for levels 18-21, and promised different development paths for new heroes as well as more endgame content for higher level players in the future.

Roper wrapped up the interview with some interesting information on what to watch for in the future: "We have a lot of things in the pipeline, including a new Nemesis-centric lair in November, a Winter Event in December, and something really big in the first part of 2010."

It sounds like Cryptic isn't finished adding to Champions Online by a long shot - you can read the full interview here.

Anti-Aliased: It pays to be paranoid

by Seraphina Brennan Nov 5th 2009 at 5:30PM

Filed under: Super-hero, Business models, Culture, MMO industry, Opinion, Champions Online, Anti-Aliased

Blame Shawn Schuster. No, really, it's applicable this time and I'm not just pulling your leg.

Many of you were wondering why we hadn't talked about the Champions Online failures this past weekend -- The "Blood Moon Blunder." Well, it was because pretty much the second we started getting reports from you guys about the client not working on Steam, or subscribing players complaining of the lag that the servers had over the weekend, Shawn turned to me, slapped the story on my desk and said, "All yours for Anti-Aliased."

And I sat there, smiled, and politely responded, "Oh crap. This is going to drive them all up the wall even further than last week's article. I'll do it."

So was the Champions free weekend a failure? Absolutely, but not for the reasons you may think. Come on, follow me after the break, and we'll go into yet another (and hopefully the last for a while) opinion column on Champions.

NCsoft responds to City of Heroes speculation

by Eliot Lefebvre Nov 5th 2009 at 4:00PM

Filed under: Super-hero, City of Heroes, Business models, Interviews, MMO industry, Opinion, Rumors

A couple days ago, we had a post detailing some speculation on what City of Heroes: Going Rogue meant for NCsoft West, City of Heroes, and the future of the entire branch of the company. Ryan James, director of corporate communications for NCsoft, took the time to issue a direct response to us regarding that post. We also got an opportunity to ask him a few questions regarding NCsoft's current and future direction, which helps provide some context and some behind-the-scenes information to offset the speculative nature of the aforementioned post.

The official response is as follows:

"We wanted to respond to your post from November 2 on City of Heroes and clarify a few points for you and your readers. In short, the piece offers a rather sensationalist view of NCsoft West and our success thus far.

We're very proud of what we've accomplished here in the West – we have several major MMO franchises, including City of Heroes, Lineage and Guild Wars. And our newest addition to the NCsoft portfolio, Aion, has just seen a very successful launch here in the West. As you point out, we have had to make some tough portfolio decisions, but this is very much par for the course for any major game publisher today. That being said, we remain extremely proud of the Paragon team's accomplishments with the City of Heroes franchise. City of Heroes is still the world's most popular super-powered hero MMO. Even with an increasingly crowded landscape, City of Heroes remains the gold standard for comic book-inspired MMOs – it has stood the test of time and we're excited to be bringing Going Rogue to players next year.

As you note, the author of Vicarious Existence is indeed 'alarmist' in his assessment of NCsoft West and our future. We couldn't agree more. On the contrary, we're optimistic about our future."

Following the statement, Mr. James took the opportunity to answer a few questions about the company's game portfolio and future plans. Take a look at the questions and responses after the break.

A look behind the systems of Champions Online

by Kyle Horner Nov 5th 2009 at 9:00AM

Filed under: Super-hero, News items, Champions Online

If you're good with numbers or would like to obtain some understanding of Champions Online's various systems, then this new systems dev blog is right up your alley. There's plenty of math happening here, so when you start to feel confused don't worry so much -- you're not alone.

Actually, the basics of what systems designer Brian Urbanek discusses aren't too convoluted. At least, the part where he explains the percentages of what influences a character's power isn't too bad. As it turns out, equipment makes up for 42.5% of your overall power, while talents take up 15%, "base" is 2.5% and super stats fill the rest at 40%. What that essentially means, is that your leveling choices in super stats and talents (which effect stats as well) make up a large part of where your character excels. This is all shortly followed by equipment, but creates a slightly bigger focus on how you design your superhero.

Soon Brian will be discussing combat, which is sure to be a hot topic within the Champions Online community. Until then, we're going to re-read this first entry in the hope that someday we can grok it.

One Shots: Glad they're on our side

by Krystalle Voecks Nov 3rd 2009 at 2:05PM

Filed under: Super-hero, Screenshots, One Shots, Champions Online

It's always disquieting when you smack up against a giant boss who is ready to tear your face off and feed it to you at their earliest opportunity. Thankfully for Ranter, who captured this super-sized pair in Champions Online, these weren't bosses but instead other players. We can only be glad for him, as this now means he's got some enormous help for missions - assuming they can get to the mission without destroying everything, anyway. Ranter writes: When they said Champions Online was growing, they weren't kidding! Players have discovered an ability to grow in size...

All MMOs from big to small to ones with big characters are welcome. Just email your screenshots in to us here at oneshots AT massively DOT com along with your name, the name of the game, and a quick description. We'll post them here and give you the credit.

Gallery: One Shots

How much is riding on City of Heroes: Going Rogue?

by Eliot Lefebvre Nov 2nd 2009 at 8:00PM

Filed under: Super-hero, City of Heroes, City of Villains, Business models, Expansions, MMO industry, Opinion

At the six-year mark, City of Heroes is still moving forward, with City of Heroes: Going Rogue targeted for release in the second quarter of 2010. It's certainly not the oldest game to receive an expansion, but Vicarious Existence has an interesting point to be made: exactly how much is riding on the success of this expansion? In true heroic sense, it may well be the fate of NCsoft West and of NCsoft's entire western presence in the market.

It's no secret that NCsoft West has had a difficult time in the market, with the first rumbles having been made clear with the sad tale of Auto Assault. And it's hardly necessary to dredge up painful memories about the games that have also gone the way of the dodo. But as the post points out, there's not nearly as much revenue coming in from the western branch of the company as they'd like, even with the success Aion has been having in the marketplace. (If that sounds cynical or as if it's expecting too much money, Adam Martin has an excellent explanation of why NCsoft could and would be so draconic about profits.) To be fair, the post is a bit alarmist, but it does posit that there could be a great deal of trouble on the horizon for City of Heroes -- and perhaps the whole studio -- based on the performance of the expansion. And even if the idle speculation is wrong, it certainly does put you in the right mood for the expansion, doesn't it?

Massively interviews City of Heroes' newest architect

by Rubi Bayer Nov 2nd 2009 at 6:00PM

Filed under: Super-hero, City of Heroes, Interviews, MMO industry

Sean "Dr. Aeon" McCann is the newest member of the City of Heroes team, having wowed Paragon with his recent outstanding work on Mission Architect. We got a chance to congratulate Dr. Aeon directly, and took the opportunity to talk with him about his new position. He gives us a look at how he made the leap from player to team member, how he's settling in to his new role, and all about the fun of working on Mission Architect.

Follow along after the jump for a look into the "greatest mind the world has ever known."

Anti-Aliased: I like walking into towering infernos (like the Champions Online C-Store)

by Seraphina Brennan Oct 29th 2009 at 5:00PM

Filed under: Super-hero, Business models, Culture, MMO industry, Opinion, Champions Online, Anti-Aliased

Yes everyone, it's one of those articles. I promised you guys way back before the launch of Champions Online that I would talk about the C-Store when it finally came out. Well, it finally came out last week, and you guys certainly had a lot to say on the matter.

To many, this is just another bad move on the part of Cryptic. However, according to the general MMO population, every move that Cryptic has made has been a bad move. (Yes Kdolo, Sakura Park, we heard you the last 50 times.) If I took every comment people told me about Champions Online as truth, then I'd think it was a buggy, unplayable mess that's powered by unsympathetic robots who want to do nothing more than suck all of the cash out of your wallet.

Unfortunately for the naysayers, I actually play Champions Online. And, like I did before, I'm going to give my honest opinions on this next move from Cryptic.

A heroic million inhabit Champions Online

by Krystalle Voecks Oct 29th 2009 at 4:00PM

Filed under: Super-hero, New titles, News items, Champions Online

It would seem that spandex hasn't gone out of style in the MMO world. Kotaku is reporting that Cryptic Studios told them that one million superheroes have been created in Champions Online to date. That's a lot of different heroic concepts, costumes, and back-stories! What's even more fun when you think about it? That means there are a million nemeses running around in there too. Cryptic has created a veritable cornucopia of comic-book evil.

In a quick survey of the team here at Massively, the average seems to be hovering at 4 characters per Champions Online account. If our completely unscientific average is anywhere near accurate, that would put Champions Online in the neighborhood of approximately 250,000 accounts, which certainly isn't bad for having launched recently. With all the crime still out there on Millennium City streets, though, we hope those heroes will get to work -- there are still a lot more bad guys to beat down!

City of Heroes: Going Rogue information revealed at Hero-Con

by Rubi Bayer Oct 29th 2009 at 9:00AM

Filed under: Super-hero, City of Heroes, Events, real-world, Expansions

City of Heroes teased fans for most of October, promising big information on Going Rogue for those attending HeroCon, and they didn't disappoint. The welcome address last Saturday lived up to expectations in a big way. The community relations team presented nearly an hour of information, screenshots, and video covering the high points of Going Rogue.

They began with the all-important process of transforming your hero to a villain, or vice versa. Rather than pushing a button or purchasing the transformation from the store, players will be able to stay in character and experience the fall from grace or redemption of their character as they work through a series of moral missions.

New powersets (Demon Summoning and Dual Pistols), signature characters and enemy groups were introduced to the crowd, as well as some cool new costume pieces. An extensive look at Praetoria came in the form of a first look at the eye-popping graphics upgrade as well.

All of the exciting new information begs the big question: When? Going Rogue is aiming for a release in Q2 2010, with beta coming in five waves in early 2010. After seeing the information from Hero-Con, we're as excited as you are for this expansion and will be letting you know as soon as more specific information is available. For the time being, check out the City of Heroes forums for an extensive (and impressive) rundown of all the current Going Rogue information.

One Shots: We all float down here

by Krystalle Voecks Oct 27th 2009 at 2:10PM

Filed under: Super-hero, Screenshots, One Shots, Champions Online

Sometimes, no matter how hard you try - you just can't save all the civilians. That said, it's not every day that they wind up floating, either. This particular strange corpse shot was sent to us by Drazat, who captured this image in Champions Online while looking around a submarine for people to help. A great image for this spooky time of year, we think.

If you've found something bizarre on your travels in MMO territory, why not grab a screenshot and send it in to us! Just email it to oneshots AT massively DOT com along with your name, the name of the game, and a quick description of what we're seeing in the image. We'll post it out here for everyone to share in a moment of communal weirdness.

Gallery: One Shots

Champions Online gives away a free retcon

by Eliot Lefebvre Oct 27th 2009 at 12:00PM

Filed under: Super-hero, Events, in-game, Game mechanics, Server downtime, News items, Champions Online

Retcons are valuable things in Champions Online, and they are used only with care, as their effects can be far-reaching and are assured to be constant for quite some time. (This marks a major point of divergence between Champions Online and most current comic books, but we'll leave that to one side for the time being.) So it's a bit significant when Cryptic announces that everyone will be getting a free retcon on October 27th, just in time for the Blood Moon event to kick off in full swing.

Cryptic's official explanation is that the free retcon comes as a result of server troubles over the weekend, and is their little way of extending an olive branch to the community. It does come with a bit of a caveat, however -- if you've been banking up your previous free retcon in anticipation of needing it later, they won't stack. You just get the one free.

But that's not such a big issue, when you get right down to it -- you can use the retcon if you need it, and start enjoying the zombie-smashing fun. And if you aren't already playing, perhaps now is a fine time to mention that there's a free weekend starting on Friday?

DC Universe Online creative director answers questions from the fans

by James Egan Oct 27th 2009 at 11:00AM

Filed under: Super-hero, Interviews, New titles, DC Universe Online

One of the upcoming SOE titles we're hoping to hear more about is DC Universe Online -- the superhero MMO that will build on the DC Comics legacy. DC Universe Online's Creative Director Chris Cao recently did a video interview with DCUO Source that explains how the devs have approached the game's design.

Cao fielded a number of questions posed to him by the fansite's readers -- How will player feedback impact the game's development? Will there be voicework in DCUO from the actors who've voiced characters in the various DC animated series and video games (specifically, Kevin Conroy)? How will DCUO handle secret identities? All good questions. For the answers, check out the video interview with Chris Cao at DCUO Source.

[Via MMORPG.com]

Cryptic talks Blood Moon in dev chat

by Rubi Bayer Oct 26th 2009 at 5:00PM

Filed under: Super-hero, News items, Champions Online

Last week's Champions Online dev chat was all about Blood Moon, and Cryptic had a great team on hand to answer questions. Community Rep David "Daeke" Bass, Executive Producer Bill Roper, Lead Designer Randy "Arkayne" Mosiondz, Systems Designer Brian "Balseraph" Urbanek, and Rewards System Designer Cormac "AntiProton" Russell made up the group and ensured that someone would be able to answer pretty much any questions players could throw at them.

Player interest covered a wide range, from game mechanics and balance to some fun "what if" questions (all-Foxbat April Fool's event, anyone?). The dev team got a chance to discuss some skills and balance issues that have been on everyone's mind. Overall, players apparently like what they see, because there were several requests for more of the same: fans wanted to know if the Blood Moon event would be repeated next year, if Blood Moon content and characters would continue to be available after Halloween, and if more events were in the works.

The dev chat team did a great job answering questions and having fun with CO players -- check out the full transcript here.

DC Universe Online takes us to Bizarro World

by Rubi Bayer Oct 25th 2009 at 6:00PM

Filed under: Super-hero, Screenshots, News items

Sony Online Entertainment revealed a brand new addition to DC Universe Online Friday: Bizarro. Even if you're not already familiar with the character, you can pretty much assume that anything with a name like that is going to be probably evil and definitely awesome. So who is this guy? DCUO provides a brief backstory for anyone living in a cave, and for the sake of moving on and getting to the good part, we'll go with that: "In hopes of having a Superman of his very own, Lex Luthor called upon his top scientist Dr. Teng to scan and replicate the hero's genetic structure. Due to complications in the construction of the carbon copy, their results gave birth to a monstrous menace, Bizarro."

Bizarro's the polar opposite of Superman. Where Superman has heat vision and freeze breath, Bizarro has freeze vision and flame breath. Best of all (or worst of all, depending on your outlook) Kryptonite gives Bizarro strength. Following this train of logic, it seems like Bizarro would also be really slow, but that's no fun.

Gallery: Bizarro Gallery