bill-roper posts

Resolutions from all across the industry

by Eliot Lefebvre Jan 16th 2010 at 4:00PM

Filed under: Culture, MMO industry, Opinion

2009 isn't so far over the horizon that we can't still be looking back and finalizing our resolutions for the new year. In some ways, it's even better to wait this long to make a few resolutions (as the most common one made after New Year's Eve celebrations involves never drinking that much again in one night). Ten Ton Hammer had an interesting take on the practice, though -- they asked a number of developers what their resolutions are for the next 365 days. (Well, okay, slightly less now.)

The resolutions range from the personal to the public, the serious to the silly. Champions Online's Bill Roper resolves to play more games, David Allen of Alganon resolves to fix bugs and improve visibility, Fallen Earth's intern Sombat Southivorarat resolves to not accidentally delete the game's Facebook fan page again. It's not going to give huge insights into the upcoming patches for several games, but it's good to remember that there are people behind our favorite games, and interesting to see what their personal goals are -- both in and out of the game. If you're so inclined, take a look, although you might want to look away before you reach CCP Nathan's resolution. Just a friendly tip.

Tags: alganon, bill-roper, ccp-nathan, champions-online, co, david-allen, developer-resolutions, fallen-earth, fe, new-year-2010, resolutions, ten-ton-hammer

Bill Roper hints at secret identity mechanic for Champions Online

by Rubi Bayer Jan 13th 2010 at 3:00PM

Filed under: Super-hero, Interviews, Champions Online

Italian fansite mmorpgitalia.com spent some time recently with Bill Roper, talking about where Champions Online stands four months after release, and where they are going from here.

Roper answered some popular questions regarding issues such as the social aspect of Champions Online, the game's level of completion (or lack thereof) at launch and how Cryptic has progressed from there.

The interview also covered questions about Cryptic's upcoming plans for CO, such as the upcoming secret identity mechanic. It's an exciting idea for players, but one that Roper's not quite ready to divulge in detail about yet: "We're in the early design stages of this feature, so I'm not ready to talk about it. One of the things I have learned about communicating ideas is that once it's in an interview, it becomes gospel no matter how much you qualify it as being "mere ideas" or "discussions.""

The full interview covers these points in more detail and several others as well, and is a good read for anyone interested in Champions Online.

Tags: bill-roper, champions-online, cryptic, cryptic-studios, interview, mmorpgitalia, secret-identity

Bill Roper on Champions' free weekends, nemesis and content updates

by Kyle Horner Dec 8th 2009 at 11:00AM

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

With two content updates behind the game and 2010 looming just over the horizon, we spoke briefly with Bill Roper on a multitude of Champions Online topics. Specifically, you'll find discussion on Cryptic's free weekends, Nemesis Confrontation and even a hint at future updates in the coming weeks and months.

So follow along after the jump for our talk with the executive producer, and be sure to keep up-to-date with the latest news on the game through our Champions Online page.

Tags: atari, bill-roper, blood-moon, champions, champions-online, cryptic, cryptic-studios, featured, free-weekend, interview, nemesis-confrontation

Bill Roper talks powers in Champions Online

by Eliot Lefebvre Nov 24th 2009 at 9:00AM

Filed under: Super-hero, Game mechanics, Interviews, Opinion, Champions Online

Two of the biggest aspects of Champions Online are easy to point out: the character creator and the wide selection of powers. Certainly it's not the first game to use a classless system by a long shot, but the visual and immediate nature of power selection and the cosmetic effects of those choice are a big part of the game's distinctiveness. So it's hard not to be interested when Bill Roper sits down and talks with MMOCrunch about which powers he thinks worked excellently out of the gate and which onces were a bit less impressive.

Bill gushes quite enthusiastically about powers such as Force Cascade, Killer Instinct, and Thermal Reverberation -- powers that encourage alternate playstyles or different combinations of abilities. He's also enthusiastic about Uppercut and Haymaker, which he feels have an excellent payoff if they're used successfully and force the player to think more carefully. On the flipside, passive offensive powers don't have nearly enough effect, Chain Lightning tries to encourage alternate approaches but fails to do so, and summoning doesn't mesh nicely with the game's core play aspects. Roper also talks about what's being planned for the underwhelming powers to help bring them more in line, as well as discussing data mining and the infamous launch day nerfs. Take a look at the full interview for more details.

Tags: bill-roper, champions-online, co, cryptic, cryptic-studios, game-mechanics, interviews, opinion

Bill Roper on Champions Online's launch, current state and future

by Kyle Horner Nov 20th 2009 at 6:00PM

Filed under: Interviews, New titles, News items, Champions Online

In a recent interview with Boomtown, Bill Roper spoke his mind on everything from Hellgate: London hate to Champions Online's launch and future. In fact, the man spoke quite candidly on all topics, particularly that of Cryptic's missteps with their second superhero MMO as well as their successes.

Of particular note, there's a mention of how Champions Online will handle DC Universe Online's 2010 launch given that the superhero MMO market hasn't really expanded of late. Curiously, Roper says he feels that the Xbox 360 version will help to vastly expand Champions' user base. There's a chance Cryptic could be pushing to get into the console market by or before SOE releases their superhero MMO. Although given the headaches Cryptic has expressed at getting an MMO on Microsoft's console, we get the feeling much of the developer's focus is presently on Star Trek Online and continued live game support.

Tags: atari, bill-roper, champions-online, cryptic, cryptic-studios, dc-universe-online, dcuo, soe, sony, sony-online-entertainment, star-trek-online, sto

Bill Roper talks about Champions Online successes and failures

by Eliot Lefebvre Nov 17th 2009 at 9:00AM

Filed under: Super-hero, Events, in-game, Game mechanics, Interviews, Champions Online

Champions Online is still wet behind the ears, but we're moving through the game's third month of operation, time enough to take a slightly calmer look at how things went at launch and how the game has been shaping up. Jeux Online recently interviewed executive producer Bill Roper regarding the game's launch and its future, which might not contain as much information on the latter as the fans would like but still contains some interesting bits and pieces.

Looking forward, the most interesting bits are the promise of an upcoming Lair in which each player's Nemesis makes an appearance, in a union of several high-level threats to face off against a team of heroes. (Shades of the Masters of Evil or the Legion of Doom.) He also discusses a bit about the upcoming winter event, which he states will not include a new powerset but will include a number of "presents", as well as a fight against a truly massive opponent. There's also discussion regarding mission instancing a la City of Heroes, PvP maps, and the ongoing task of balancing Champions Online. How the game will mature in practice is yet to be seen, but we're getting a clearer and clearer idea about the game's direction at the very least.

Tags: balance, bill-roper, champions-online, co, cryptic, cryptic-studios, game-balance, game-mechanics, in-game-events, interviews, nemesis, pvp

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.

Tags: bill-roper, champions-online, cryptic, cryptic-studios, interview, interviews

Get Champions Online for $30 on Amazon, today only

by Kyle Horner Sep 23rd 2009 at 2:30PM

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

Amazon's "Deal of the Day" today just happens to be Champions Online, so if you were waiting for a price drop (or a deal this good) then get on over there and grab it while the deal lasts. If you're not sure what the game is all about, wWe've got our WoW players guide to Champions Online, as well as our recent interview on current and upcoming updates to the game with its design director Bill Roper.

We'd say something more, but there's a 40% off sale for a freshly released MMO and... well, why are you still reading this?

Tags: amazon, atari, bill-roper, breaking, champions-online, cryptic, cryptic-studios, sale, world-of-warcraft, wow

Champions Online's Bill Roper talks retcons, powers and more

by Kyle Horner Sep 21st 2009 at 9:00AM

Filed under: Super-hero, Massively Interviews, Champions Online

We've been having a lot of fun with Champions Online here at Massively, but with the launch of any MMO there are always questions of how current issues will be handled and what's coming in the near future. So, we spoke with the game's Design Director Bill Roper on several subjects ranging from powers balancing to the upcoming free content update Blood Moon and the reinforcement system.

Tags: bill-roper, blood-moon, champions-online, combat, cryptic, cryptic-studios, difficulty, featured, patch, patches, retcon

Champions Online's Bill Roper talks retcons, powers and more part 2

by Kyle Horner Sep 21st 2009 at 9:00AM

Filed under: Super-hero, Massively Interviews, Champions Online

Tags: bill-roper, blood-moon, c-store, champions-online, cryptic, cryptic-studios, interview, retcon

Bill Roper explains teams and SuperGroups in new Champions trailer

by William Dobson Aug 31st 2009 at 3:00PM

Filed under: Super-hero, Trailers, Video, Game mechanics, Guilds, Raiding, Grouping, Champions Online

While Champions Online is designed to allow players to live out their fantasy of being a lone superhero badass taking on all-comers solo, if that's what they're after, there's also content and features aimed at groups of players. A new video hosted at GameTrailers and featuring Bill Roper is focused on the things that await people who are interested in getting together with others to tackle crime and evil. The title of the video leads you to believe that it is all about SuperGroups (Champions Online's guilds), but most of Roper's comments are related to grouping in general.

The reinforcement system, lairs/headquarters, group events, multiple-group content and different roles in groups all come up during the featurette. Head past the break to see how you can help save the world with a little help from your friends.

Tags: bill-roper, champions, champions-online, cryptic, cryptic-studios, grouping, guilds, headquarters, lairs, reinforcement-system, supergroup, teams

Champions Online experiences open beta troubles

by Seraphina Brennan Aug 17th 2009 at 7:30PM

Filed under: Betas, Super-hero, Bugs, Patches, News items, Champions Online

For many people, today was supposed to be a magical day filled with ponies and superheroes. But what should have been a wonderfully magical experience has left many with a bad taste in their mouth and a patcher that constantly disconnects. We, honestly, blame Foxbat for this. He once tried to steal the Empire State Building, you know.

In all seriousness, many users have been reporting that the official Champions Online patcher has been both downloading slowly and disconnecting from the server after timing out, leading to many people becoming furious over not being able to log in. FilePlanet users have also been affected by this as well, even after pre-loading the Champions Online client to be ready for this day.

Tags: beta, bill-roper, breaking, champions, champions-online, cryptic, cryptic-studios, errors, forums, open-beta, patcher, problems, slow-download, time-out

Cryptic Studios clarifies microtransactions in Star Trek Online

by James Egan Jul 20th 2009 at 1:00PM

Filed under: Sci-fi, Business models, Game mechanics, MMO industry, News items, Star Trek Online

We noticed quite a stir in our last post about microtransactions in an upcoming Cryptic Studios game. The post in question was about Champions Online, which explained how Cryptic plans to keep the microtransaction system balanced. Quite a number of commenters at Massively expressed the view that the game should either be subscription or microtransaction-based, one or the other, and not a hybrid of the two.

That debate isn't confined to Cryptic's superhero MMO, however. The company's approach to microtransactions with Champions Online will be applied to Star Trek Online as well, according to a recent forum post by Jackalope (Jack Emmert) from the Cryptic Studios dev team.

Tags: bill-roper, business-models, champions-online, cryptic-studios, forums, game-mechanics, jack-emmert, jackalope, microtransactions, mmo-industry, new-titles, sci-fi, star-trek-online, state-of-the-game, sto, super-hero

Champions Online video showcases character creation

by Kyle Horner Jul 10th 2009 at 11:00AM

Filed under: Video, New titles, News items, Champions Online

It's been a long time coming, but Cryptic has put out a video through Gamespy detailing character creation with glorious in-game footage of the actual process. If you've been following information on Champions Online for some time now, you probably won't learn anything new in terms of what Bill Roper talks about during the video. However, videos are worth more words than anything else, so we doubt that will bother anyone too much.

Soon -- very soon actually -- the open beta will arrive and everyone will get a crack at superhero design in Champions Online. We can't wait to see what kind of craziness people come up with, especially when components are in place to make what appears to be robot-clown-demons and other disturbing concoctions.

Check out the full video after the break.

Tags: atari, bill-roper, champions-online, character-creation, cryptic, cryptic-studios, gameplay, gamespy, video

Cryptic's Bill Roper on balancing powers in Champions Online

by James Egan Jul 8th 2009 at 8:00PM

Filed under: Super-hero, Game mechanics, Interviews, Champions Online

When news came in of the Champions Online launch being delayed to September, a few of the writers at Massively were despondent. It's always better for a game to launch once it's solid rather than release in a buggy state, though. While we wait for the re-scheduled September 1st launch, we're keeping up with the news and interviews surrounding the upcoming superhero title. In fact, we've just come across an MMOCrunch interview with Bill Roper, executive producer of Champions Online you might be interested in.

Roper gets into how some of the game mechanics in Champions Online will play out, and explains a bit about how travel powers like flight and teleportation can be countered by those without such capabilities. (For example, how does a ground-based melee character engage a kiting opponent in flight?) He also touches upon the game's sidekick system, which will allow newer players to temporarily boost their powers to keep up with higher level friends. Alternately, the sidekick system will give advanced characters the ability to tone their powers down to the level of their appallingly weak lower level buddies.

Tags: bill-roper, champions-online, cryptic-studios, executive-producer, game-mechanics, mmocrunch, nemesis, nemesis-system, producer, sidekick, sidekicks, super-hero, superhero, travel-powers, villain, villains