Brannoc: Welcome to another great Stratics House of Commons chat with the developers of City of Heroes! Today will be a general discussion so any and all questions concerning the game are welcome.
Brannoc: Please send said questions to [QT]Brekkee or [QT]Gowel – to do so type /query NICK and type in the window that pops up. Questions sent to myself or the developers will NOT make it into the lineup, so don’t bother.
Brannoc: So without further ado we’ll start with a brief introduction from the developers, now would be a good time to send those questions.
Aura Manning: Hi all. I’m Aura, the online community lead for CoH. Thanks for joining us today!
CuppaJo: Hey everyone, I am CuppaJo – MOD for the COH forums, thanks for being here!
Statesman: And I’m the Creative Director for Cryptic Studios – the lead designer for City of Heroes and City of Villains.
Brannoc: *zzMDude* Statesman, what is your opinion on the thought of player characters being able to use handguns as a primary power?
Statesman: Definitely. That’s just a matter of time. Power Sets take months of development time – so it isn’t easy to toss them in.
Brannoc: *Karsh* When will any new powersets be put into the game, such as the vehicle ones that were mentioned earlier somewhere?
Statesman: Vehicles will probably not be a new powerset…
Statesman: But we’re planning on adding new ones.
Statesman: Especially the common ones we’re missing: Sonic powers, Bows, Shields, Magnetism, etc.
Brannoc: *NovaBolt* Do you know when/if swinging (either from webs or wires) will be implemented into the game?
Statesman: Eventually! This is a tough one, because it requires not just new art & design time – but also new tech. I’d like to get it before City of Villains, but I can’t promise anything.
Brannoc: *zzMDude* Statesman, your team has done a good job rendering the world of the game so far, but Paragon tends to get repetitive at the higher levels. Any plans to freshen or spice up the look of later zones like Talos and Pengerine?
Statesman: We’re going to be adding “mini-events” to ALL the zones that make each one unique. Right now, they’re a tad too homogenous. I want the city to feel as diverse as NYC, Philadelphia, Bostson, etc.
Brannoc: *alexk* What type of content can we expect for SG’s who’s members are all lvl45+ (if not all lvl50) ? And how soon?
Statesman: For SG’s, there’s going to be bases of City of Villains.
Statesman: And we might get an Arena before that even.
Statesman: And Vehicles sound perfect for high level SG’s.
Brannoc: *Lady_Sadako* Mr. Statesman, sir, can I please draw your attention to the forum thread discussing the need for an all-female villain group? Is there any chance that the more deadly gender will have a lower-level villain group of its own any time soon?
Statesman: There are no current plans for the low levels.
Statesman: But there are plans to expand the Knives of Artemis.
Brannoc: *LinkOoT-Pinnacle* My question is: Statesman, are you able to give any more hints on either the Out of Combat System or the Epic/Prestige Archetypes
Statesman: Well, the out of combat system is going to be delayed a bit (sadly); it won’t be in Expansion 3.
Statesman: And the Epic Archetype is very…otherwordly. One might even say extraterrestrial.
Brannoc: *Lady_Shoes* Is there any chance that CoH will extend beyond level 50?
Statesman: There are no current plans for it.
Brannoc: *Trevan_LOA* Many players who find themselves spending significant time soloing find the tendency to run out “door” missions extremely frustrating. Could the level ranges be “padded out” with additional door missions so that those of us who dislike street fighting don’t end up in lull periods which make the game unattractive to us?
Statesman: We’re adding more content with every Expansion.
Statesman: We have right now 600 some unique missions in the game.
Statesman: And we’re adding more all the time.
Statesman: In the meantime, those people might need to find some friends to fight crime with!
Brannoc: *Reality* Is there any chance of increasing the size of the Friends list? How ’bout a cross-server Friends list?
Statesman: Definitely! We’ve got a brand new Chat system going in – perhaps soon – that will allow players to communicate across servers.
Brannoc: *Reality* Do you still plan to implement variable-difficulty in missions, and is there any wild timetable on when it might happen?
Statesman: Yes, I plan on it. Timetable – VERY soon.
Brannoc: *WesTheMess* While I appreciate getting into issue #5(Big blue guy in jury), I was wondering if you could clue us all in on the names of everyone in the jury, or at least tell us if everyone there is a player character?
Aura Manning: Not everyone in the Jury of issue #5 (comic) is a player, but some are. It’s up to those people, however, to identify themselves to you if they so wish. 🙂
Brannoc: *darknight* Is their anything in the works about heroes being able to have adventures in outerspace?
Statesman: Yes. Though you might need a Vehicle to get there…
Brannoc: *Narukami* Are there any plans to look into the Electricity blast powerset, it’s lacking pretty much compared to the other four, especially in damage, many non damage attacks, and a pet which doesn’t do what it should.
Statesman: There are no current plans. The endurance draining abilities are outstanding against bosses and Archvillains, but it’s on our “watch” list.
Brannoc: *Prescient* If new power sets are introduced with future issues, will there be opportunities for current high level players to switch to them?
Statesman: There are no plans to allow people to change power sets. We gave players a ton of character slots so they could play every hero they could imagine.
Brannoc: *Raksha* Are there any plans to improve or add to costume selection anytime soon? As in, more variety such as trenchcoats more suit jackets etc.
Statesman: Yes, probably not in the coming Update, but after that.
Brannoc: *Tuwile* Is there any new information available about potential changes to the Dark Armor scrapper secondary? We’ve heard that it’s planned to make the armors stackable, will that be the extent of the changes, and are there any estimates on when this will go in?
Statesman: It probably won’t be the full extent of the tweaks, but it’s the biggest, and the first step. I’d like to get these changes in either this next Expansion or the one after.
Brannoc: *Fender* I´d like to know what´s with crash issues… a lot of talking on the forums and the game still crashes a lot… ive seen you have some patches with that and i would like to know an aproximate evaluation of the subject that you might have
Statesman: Our great software engineers have been doing a ton of debugging.
Statesman: Each patch has improved the situation a lot.
Statesman: We’re still fixing things…so we’re not resting on our laurels.
Brannoc: *Ranger* Will you be adding a new costume effects with issue #3 council of war?
Statesman: Yes, though not through the store. They’ll probably be rewards for particular tasks (story arcs, taskforces, etc.)
Brannoc: *JP* Statesman, Are rewards for completing story arcs at higher levels going to be upgraded at any point? Getting to pick a simple DO from lvls 22+ or an SO from later levels isn’t really anything special.
Statesman: One, we’d love to add more Temporary Powers in.
Statesman: Two, more capes.
Statesman: Three, more f/x.
Statesman: Four, more badges.
Statesman: Five – the top secret out of combat system.
Brannoc: *Mithanial* Will the Cryptic team be making an appearance at any of the local DFW <Dallas Fort Worth> Comic Conventions. EIther Wizard World, or Dallas Comic Con? If not Cryptic what about NcSoFt reps for COH?
Statesman: Yes!
Statesman: I’ve forgotten which one – but I am going to one in November, and giving a talk on the past, present and future of City of Heroes.
Brannoc: *Narukami* Are there any plans for new enhancement types? Things like damage buff increasements, buff length, area of effect radius, cone width increase etc.
Statesman: Not currently.
Brannoc: *Witch_Engine* My question: Will there ever be a possibility to permanently gain a temp power you’ve gotten from a mission, such as Flashbang Grenades or the Nemesis Staff, possibly by giving up access to one of our pool powers in exchange for it? (I would drop Leadership, for example, if I could gain in place of an entire pool the Nemesis Staff and the ability to later slot it like a normal power, or evne just keep it unslott
Statesman: I’d love people to get Temporary Powers are a more permanent basis.
Statesman: There’s great comic book precedent.
Statesman: A certain webbed hero gained cosmic powers for a period of time.
Statesman: A striking red head’s telekinesis grew so strong that she was like a creature emerging from the ashes.
Statesman: We’ll put it in – but because it’s a “flourish” thing with no game play effect, we’ve held off.
Statesman: Now before people start saying “well, weather can have an effect…rain could decrease accuracy…” let me explain…
Statesman: If weather had ANY negative effects, people would simply not play when the weather, in game, was bad.
Statesman: So therefore, weather has to be purely visual.
Statesman: And if it’s purely visual, then it falls after things like Power Sets…
Brannoc: *Cosmic_Defender* Will shapeshifting be in before CoV?
Statesman: The tech for Shapeshifting will be in for Expansion 3.
Statesman: It won’t be what people think.
Statesman: But it’s a start.
Brannoc: *Mithanial* Will Heroes be able to have multiple simultaneous power effects <the level 30 effect thing> going at one time?
Statesman: No.
Statesman: Framerate problems.
Brannoc: *Narukami* Can we expect something to try sway players from the cookie cutter setup? Right now there’s no reason not to slot your powers with one accuracy and five damage. Things like added Range, Reduce Endurance, Drain Endurance, Slows, knockback aren’t used at all, they give too little effect/benefit in exchange for accuracy/damage enhancements.
Statesman: We’re exploring ways to “enhance” the Enhancements…to make the system more robust and more interesting.
Statesman: This will address the issue.
Brannoc: *Raindrop* any idea when the game will be available to europe? UK servers etc.
Aura Manning: While we have made no official announcement yet on when the game is expanding to Europe, we are making serious strides to achieving that and will bring you more concrete news via the web site as soon as we have more specifics available.
Brannoc: *PSCHLUGO* question: are the epic archtypes going to have as distinct roles as the starting archtypes, or are they going to deviate from that being a bit more powerful & whatnot?
Statesman: They’ll be VERY distinct. More powerful – and weaker – all in the same package.
Brannoc: *Vailerth* In the upcoming Issue#3, will there be many changes to powersets such as SuperReflexes or new animations for tanker sets?
Statesman: Probably not Superreflexes – but we’ll be adding some more Taunt to a Tanker’s inherent powers.
Brannoc: *Ranger* How are the stated upgrade for tankers coming?
Statesman: So far, the extra taunt on their powers is great.
Statesman: The extra damage has been more problematic.
Statesman: Basically, it made them MUCH better than even Scrappers.
Statesman: But I want to make Tankers UNIQUE in gameplay from Scrappers.
Statesman: So we’ve got a plan.
Statesman: I can’t get into it – but it’s very comic booky.
Brannoc: *Sunnu* Hi! There’s been alot of speculation and guessing recently on the definite inclusions to Issue3. What can we definitely look forward to in Issue 3?
Statesman: Now that Expansion 2 is under our belt…we can start looking forward.
Statesman: Keep your eyes peeled to the official website.
Brannoc: *Epicyon* I appreciate the changes that have recently been made to make the game more difficult, they are definately in the right direction. Should we expect further game balancing changes as we go forward? Are there changes in queue that you can mention?
Statesman: Balance is an ongoing issue.
Statesman: Stone, Dark & Ice Armors are all getting analyzed.
Statesman: The Tanker is being tweaked.
Statesman: The AOE issue needs to be addressed.
Statesman: And Controllers feeling unwanted – that’s an issue.
Statesman: So yes, we’re going to keep making changes.
Brannoc: *ngrey01* My question is, “Is there any chance, in update 3, well be able to change the graffic of individual powers? Ex. Claws Spines Etc.”
Statesman: Not in Expansion 3.
Brannoc: *Prescient* Can you confirm that some sort of system will be put in the game for us to go back and do old story arcs, task force missions, and other missions that gave badges? Or will that be tied into the mission difficulty slider?
Statesman: It’s something that we’d like to do, but it won’t be tied to the mission difficulty slider.
Brannoc: *DevilMayCare* Statesman: Please give us a preview of what new stuff will *most likely* be in Issue 3.
Statesman: Sure.
Statesman: There’s a Council.
Statesman: And a War.
Statesman: For sure.
Statesman: Definitely.
Brannoc: *Mithanial* With the subsequent bump coming soon to minion HP will we see a direct correlation to XP earned for the same minions and above?
Statesman: I haven’t decided on that yet.
Statesman: It’s a big change, and I’m looking at a variety of solutions.
Statesman: If we do that, we’ll definitely increase the XP.
Brannoc: *Narukami* Are there any plans for more ways to develop your character aside from badges and enhancements?
Statesman: Yes – the super secret out of combat system.
Brannoc: *Swiftwind* When will come the Arena ?
Statesman: Before City of Villains.
Brannoc: *Solos* How come i can’t wear only briefs with usual skin colours as a male character?
Statesman: After the great Mask Flu of 1948, Paragon City authorities agreed that superhero health was of the utmost importance for national security.
Statesman: Therefore, heroes could not wear only briefs.
Brannoc: *{XoO}bean* Our supergroup has many level 50’s but not enough to beat Hamidon on our own. Will Cryptic be developing any repeatable endgame (post level 50) content that is designed for smaller raid groups? Being able to plan weekly events around repeatable content helps leaders of large supergroups retain membership.
Statesman: Yes.
Statesman: Working on it.
Brannoc: *Solos* Any ETA on alliance chat?
Statesman: It’s part of the new Chat system.
Brannoc: *LinkOoT-Pinnacle* Will I be able to wrap fire around my sword in Update3?
Statesman: No.
Brannoc: *Skrewtape* I saw in a recent patch that you changed Whirlwind such that it doesn’t reduce attack range for Scrappers and Tankers. This seems like an odd solution to the problem; scrappers’ ranged powers (Impale) are not affected, while other classes’ melee powers (Brawl) can still be reduced to 0 range. Why not instead make a lower limit past which a power’s range cannot be reduced?
Statesman: This is a rather technical issues – that gets into how powers are scripted and what not.
Statesman: Trust me – we do what we do because sometimes that’s the way it must be done (given the time constraints).
Brannoc: *Fortuna* Hello, Will a server wide character copy be introduced? This has advantages especially for those who already play from Europe as they could copy to the new Euro servers and offload from the US ones. Would also be good if you decide to change regular servers too. Thanks.
Aura Manning: We’re definitely looking into letting players conduct character transfers. As soon as something is determined one way or another, we’ll let you know.
Brannoc: *R_M* Is there any possibility of making Accolade powers accessible at all levels, even exemplared, the way temp powers are?
Statesman: Accolades ARE available at all levels – provided that you do what’s needed to get the badge.
Brannoc: *Raksha* I’d also like to know if there’s any ideas about other animal selections (for example there’s already cat and demon qualities) How bout wolf? Also, on the same subject – wings? Perhaps in the ‘shoulders’ selection.
Statesman: We’ll get to that eventually.
Statesman: Wings will first be available to an Epic Archetype.
Brannoc: And that’s it for this one folks!
