Ask Cryptic: February 8, 2010

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You all had a ton of great questions for us, and we've sent them out for answers! Want to know if your question got answered? Well, take a look and see! Then, make sure you join us in one week's time when we post our next Ask Cryptic!

Link to the news article. (http://www.champions-online.com/node/594835)

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When will EB's be changed from their current incarnation into something that will not cripple Melee builds? :mad:
When will the "Melee Pass" be implemented?

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The link just redirects me to the frontpage

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I can't get back to the page either, but it was nice to see that there is no valentine event! Hooray, I am filled with love!

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The link just redirects me to the frontpage

Same here.

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The link just redirects me to the frontpage

Same here.

Yup, me too.

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I will be generous and presume the updates are still percolating through the website.

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I will be generous and presume the updates are still percolating through the website.

One person was able to view it according to the IRC channel. Maybe someone screwed up and took it down.

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I was able to view it, I read the whole thing. Nothing too scandalous.

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I was able to view it, I read the whole thing. Nothing too scandalous.

Yeah I just got to it also.
Seems a little short to me, and nothing but generalities, no specifics.
Somewhat disappointing.

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This is what stood out to me:

chbinVol: Will there be any reason to have a theme based character in the future? Perhaps a synergy bonus for having a certain set of skills?

BigOtter: That's actually one of the goals of our Tier 4 powers being introduced in our upcoming expansion - to provide high-end thematic meta-powers for each of the power groups.

Specifically the red, bolded part.

All other questions were answered with the same round about answers that came to be expected from previous ask Cryptics.

With that said, I'd still like to thank you for getting this out us at this time (well past normal work hours), SS. :D

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This is what stood out to me:



Specifically the red, bolded part.

All other questions were answered with the same round about answers that came to be expected from previous ask Cryptics.

With that said, I'd still like to thank you for getting this out us at this time (well past normal work hours), SS. :D

I totally called this. Can't wait. We really needed some epic powers.

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This is what stood out to me:



Specifically the bolded part.

Oh snap that is a stealth edit, as it used to say "next expansion", no plural. I have a memory like that, and that phrasing stood out to me: "tier 4 powers in Vibora?", I thought. Now they fixed it, but not fast enough!

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This is what stood out to me:



Specifically the red, bolded part.

All other questions were answered with the same round about answers that came to be expected from previous ask Cryptics.

With that said, I'd still like to thank you for getting this out us at this time (well past normal work hours), SS. :D

Well tier 4 should not be a shock, they talked about it in a dev chat about November ;)

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Well tier 4 should not be a shock, they talked about it in a dev chat about November ;)
No, but adding "Tier 4's" BEFORE fixing what's already in place smacks of capitalism...
...Oh wait! Look who I'm talking about...

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Glad to hear that "soon" isn't "soon(tm)" also. My guess is that we'll be getting a wealth of information between now and the end of March, when the 6-monthers (like myself) need to renew our subs.

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No, but adding "Tier 4's" BEFORE fixing what's already in place smacks of capitalism...
...Oh wait! Look who I'm talking about...

Yea because MMOs aren't out to make money, they are all fine charities slaving themselves for free right ;) Darn those capitalist pigs. We should be living in a communist government I tell you.

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Well tier 4 should not be a shock, they talked about it in a dev chat about November ;)

It wasn't the announcement of the tier 4 powers themselves that was particularly shocking (as you said, they've been known to be in the pipeline for quite sometime now). It was their announcement along with the phrase "introduced in our upcoming expansion" that caught me by surprise (as I was expecting the upcoming expansion to have nothing more than what was described in the latest state of the game). :eek:

Good call, Blakerefuge! Though, I can't say that I thought you were right, back then. :)

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Does this mean that we not only have to pay for more content, but also for the added powers now?

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Does this mean that we not only have to pay for more content, but also for the added powers now?

I'll cut off this speculation before it even begins. Tier 4 powers will be part of our first paid content expansion. I can't talk pricing yet, but it will not be something on the scale of a full retcon. They are new powers, and will be priced accordingly.

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We learned a great many lessons from Champions, and I think you can see some of that knowledge expressed in how we ran our beta testing and approached content creation in Star Trek Online.

That is a REALLY bad sign, considering that STO left beta about three to six months too early, and without enough content for the level curve (forcing players to grind spec encounters and such to make up level gaps). The latter problem wasn't as bad as CO faced after the end-of-beta XP nerf, but it still wasn't where it needs to be. The less both games should have learned on that respect would come from WoW, where they launched with about 50%+ more content than one would strictly need to get from level 1 to cap, allowing you to skip entire zones of content completely on your progression, rather than having barely enough content, if you sought out every single available mission.

I mean, I've heard that you're working on a "fresh" MMO project that hasn't been announced yet, right? I think you need to write on the white board for that game, in huge letters, "We will launch this game with 50% more fresh, non-repeatable content than a player will absolutely need to reach the level cap we will have in at launch."

That's a lot to put on a single white board in large font, so maybe you could stick to "CONTENT!*" and put the rest at the bottom after the asterix.

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I'll cut off this speculation before it even begins. Tier 4 powers will be part of our first paid content expansion. I can't talk pricing yet, but it will not be something on the scale of a full retcon. They are new powers, and will be priced accordingly.

What happened to keeping microtransactions to cosmetic differences only? So now if I don't pay, I can't compete in PvP?

..... /facepalm

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What happened to keeping microtransactions to cosmetic differences only? So now if I don't pay, I can't compete in PvP?

..... /facepalm

My previous post was made in jest, and was not meant to be taken seriously.

Seriously. =/

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Ugh.... don't do that Ssj. You sounded official. You made me actually go back in time to July 15th and grab this quote from the State of the Game:


The Skinny on Micro-transactions

Champions Online will support micro-transactions, but contrary to the concerns of some people, the game is not ‘based’ on them. There are the basic tenets for our micro-transactions:

* The vast majority are aesthetic items, such as costume pieces, action figures, emblems, etc.
* A very few are account-level management tools, such as being able to rename a character
* Micro-transactions should never limit your ability to enjoy the game or reach the level cap
* Any micro-transaction that has a game effect can also be earned in the game through play

Also, it’s important to note that the overwhelming majority of micro-transactions are account-wide. This means if you buy a costume piece or an action figure, every character on your account gets it.

Finally, many of the pre-order programs that we’re finalizing now have cryptic points associated with them. This is a way for us to allow our players to choose their own pre-order reward(s) which falls into our whole customization concept for Champions Online.

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Bi-monthly updates and a bigger focus on communication are both things that will go a long way towards gaining trust from the community again.

Bonus for staying within one framework is awesome, but I wonder if that will count shields since many frameworks do not have one of their own. I can't see them expecting a build to not take a shield, unless they add one for every framework(even if it is just aesthetic versions of another builds shield)...

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Poz: Champs and STO share Cryptic's global services: the chat and mail server, the account server, and proxy servers. The games themselves do not share any servers. As you noted, the account server is what we've had some problems with due to Star Trek. Unfortunately, we couldn't safely change how our system works and split the two games apart there. Many of the load issues are fixed already, and we have programmers whose highest priority is keeping the account server working smoothly.

That's a start, and the very first ray of light I see concerning account server issues; however, I can't help but feel we're getting the short end of the stick there... ... ...

Well, at least you guys are admitting that there is an issue, and that you are looking into it; so thank you for that.

For what it's worth, I do hope that you will find a permanent solution to those issues; if only to dedicate those programmers’ time to something a tad more constructive, than keeping the boats afloat.

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You guys over at Cryptic need to consider tackling harder to answer questions and not just general ones about the current state of things.

Aside from the upcoming Tier 4's, there's really nothing new here, and not to mention that this Ask Cryptic was a really short one.

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I appreciate that at least they'll say publicly that things haven't been going well. Lots of companies won't.

It's all just words, of course - every MMO company is publicly dedicated to its products until the day that it isn't - but they are the right words.

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Was cool that one of my questions got used. :)

I wonder if these every other month pieces of content will be free or not.

Good news, overall, but like I've said before. I really need to see action moreso than words to bring me back. Well, both really. Turn this thing around, Cryptic. People are only angry because they care and want the game to succeed and be something they play.

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Ugh.... don't do that Ssj. You sounded official. You made me actually go back in time to July 15th and grab this quote from the State of the Game:

Apologies, mate. I assumed most people were familiar with Daeke's post (http://forums.champions-online.com/showpost.php?p=1447669&postcount=5) from the last state of the game. I guess we all know what that makes me.:p

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In that regard, we’re going to be focusing more on creating content to provide multiple paths of advancement within Champions Online. The plan is to create more of what you want in smaller bites so we can do them on shorter timelines. We also want to provide more ways and reasons for players to group, which is what much of the Flashback and Difficulty Slider work has been focused on.

Best thing said in the entire post. The two biggest complaints (ignoring bugs & melee) are lack of teaming and lack of leveling paths. Focus on those and this will make a lot of people happier.

I can't say if your actions are achieving those goals but you're aiming for the right stuff.

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You guys over at Cryptic need to consider tackling harder to answer questions and not just general ones about the current state of things.

True, but at this point, I think a lot of players are wondering about the general state of things.

Granted, there may not have been much "concrete" info there, but at least there were some reassurances and a rough draft of what they plan. That's good enough to leave me with a "wait and see" attitude (rather than a "forget this nonsense" or worse 'tude). :p

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HAH! I never thought Hal would be first. XD Having a new Ask Cryptic every week is more good news, I'm guessing I'll just post my questions here? o-o

My character's Nemesis concept is more of a flavor of the month type deal. (Like most modern day heroes) One day I'll be fighting (Let's say...) The Green Ghoul, the next day I'll be after Dr. Octagonapus. Will there be any option of just "killing" our Nemisis off at any point during the missions, or will they ALL be long, drawn out master plans?

Again with Nemesis, will we ever get random attacks from them on the street? I mean, our favorite Webhead's alien arch nemesis never exactly had henchmen, or left clues for him to find.. He just flat out swung in to kick his shiny red butt!

Nemesis Architect, will we ever see that? I was never a fan of this system on another popular Superhero game, but I think this is something the Nemesis system NEEDS since every Nemesis is different! (It would also help solve some content problems.)

And finally.. Henchmen, Will we EVER be able to customize them? My Norse god from another realm shouldn't be forced to choose between bringing Robots, Cowboys or Ninja's to help him take down my Hero.

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Yea because MMOs aren't out to make money, they are all fine charities slaving themselves for free right ;) Darn those capitalist pigs. We should be living in a communist government I tell you.
My sarcasm stems from the fact that they're adding new powers before fixing old ones Silverspar.
Forgive me for having an opinion...

...Sorry if it ruffled your Fur :(

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I think they answered some pretty tough questions right of the bat, this is 500 times better than those media interviews, so please give them some positive feedback if you like this better than the media interviews.

Even though Jack's answer to the first question was informative, and some honest candid things were said, I would have like to see a comment about 2nd and 3rd year specifically, and whether the game would go free 2 play, or whether it could change drastically, reset servers, etc in that time frame. In short, that answer should have been more reassuring about longterm existence support.

I think this was the most honest they have been so far about the business model, finally telling us that there will be monthly adventure packs. I am no longer "confused", I see the plan, I will adapt. Now I am demanding bug fixes and quality of life improvements. That is what I want to see commuication on in the future, specific discussion of tailor issues, supergoups issues, pvp issues, and bugg nemesis / end game.

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well for a bit i was worried, but i like some of the answers here. as long as they follow through and continue with the improving communication, things should get better

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HAH! I never thought Hal would be first. XD Having a new Ask Cryptic every week is more good news, I'm guessing I'll just post my questions here? o-o

Yeah, heh. I had to do a double take for REAL when I saw my name and question being there. First no less.

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Even though Jack's answer to the first question was informative, and some honest candid things were said, I would have like to see a comment about 2nd and 3rd year specifically, and whether the game would go free 2 play, or whether it could change drastically, reset servers, etc in that time frame. In short, that answer should have been more reassuring about longterm existence support.

/agree

It could be inferred that their 2 and 3 year plan involved these updates every other month, but I want to know if we'll be paying for these or not. If we are, they can at least save me some time and let me walk away now. And it's not that I'm cheap or anything. I just want the same amount of stuff I'd get for my 15th dollars playing most other games that charge the same.

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My sarcasm stems from the fact that they're adding new powers before fixing old ones Silverspar.
Forgive me for having an opinion...

...Sorry if it ruffled your Fur :(

I'm betting they're not putting in new powers...just rolling out the ones that vanished in alpha test.

Really, that whole article said nothing that hasn't been said on the forums. They just put it all in one area to read.

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I'm betting they're not putting in new powers...just rolling out the ones that vanished in alpha test.

Really, that whole article said nothing that hasn't been said on the forums. They just put it all in one area to read.

Well, there wasn,t many powers that were removed during alpha. Modified? Maybe. but completely removed from the game? not really or not enough to do an update with them.

anyway, we already have new powers that weren't there during alpha/closed beta. What makes you think they won't make new powers in the future? I'm pretty sure they are already working on some.

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Ask Cryptic translation: Please don't leave yet. Look at this carrot on a stick. No really! Look at it. It's a carrot ... on a stick ...

That said nothing.

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Ask Cryptic translation: Please don't leave yet. Look at this carrot on a stick. No really! Look at it. It's a carrot ... on a stick ...

That said nothing.

It does imply we will need to pay for the expansion to gain access to the new tier of powers.

For the next Ask Cryptic...just answer more questions from what has already been posted...rather then making us repeat what we said or asked...

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What happened to keeping microtransactions to cosmetic differences only? So now if I don't pay, I can't compete in PvP?

..... /facepalm

yeah that's what i gathered from reading there Q&A

BigOtter: That's actually one of the goals of our Tier 4 powers being introduced in our upcoming expansion - to provide high-end thematic meta-powers for each of the power groups.

So yeah does this mean that if we don't get VB we wont get the tier 4 powers?

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yeah that's what i gathered from reading there Q&A



So yeah does this mean that if we don't get VB we wont get the tier 4 powers?

Something tells me there will be a patch accompanying Vibora Bay including them, like when CoV was released for CoH.

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Not a single answer about the Pay-for-VB drama or the terrible state of PvP.

Why am I not surprised...?

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Look its a carrot! Follow the carrot...thats a good boy...

Colour me highly skeptical.

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Not a single answer about the Pay-for-VB drama or the terrible state of PvP.

Why am I not surprised...?

Off-topic question:

If you don't mid answering, how'd you get that unique forum title, IIIMystIII? Apologies for such a strange question, but I've seen a couple of your posts and couldn't help but wonder what the explanation behind the title was.

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I think Cryptic said more than I expected, but less than I would have liked. Overall it's an improvement, albeit from a low base.

While it is short on specifics there are a few reasonable inferences that can be drawn:

They finally conceded CO isn't a raging success. While this is no surprise to anybody who has objectively looked at the data, it's a nice change from the old school "rah-rah, everything's just swell!" schtick. If nothing else it implies that penny has dropped that all is not well in Oz. That can't be bad.

We'll have more levelling paths (yay), but it seems much (most?) of the new content will be in expansions (not so yay), which we should see roughly every two Cryptic months (which is somewhere between three to six months in normal calendars). Depending on ratio between sub-funded content and expansion-funded content, and the pricing of the latter, this may or may not be something I'm OK with. In any case more small releases vs a few big releases is a better approach.

The issue of timing is still an open question. I have no idea how much faster "soon" is as opposed to "soon(tm)", and Cryptic probably don't either or they would have committed to a date. I suspect the motivation is genuine. Whether or not this translates into action is yet to be determined.

They have stressed improved communications again, and for the moment they are delivering on that. Talk is easy, but it is an important first step, so I won't sledge them for this.

They recognise that grouping needs more work, although it's not clear how Flashbacks and the Difficulty slide will contribute to this. More XP farming harder missions is my best guess. I'm a bit meh on about this solution.

Tier 4 powers are coming, and they'll probably have high requirements within specific power sets (I'd expect something like 8 powers from a set, which means you'll only get T4s from a single power set). Cherry-pikcers will complain, but it's a fair tradeoff to me. On the downside it seems they're linked to paid expansions. Bollocks to that idea.

The melee problems have been acknowledged - again - with no clear idea on how extensive they are or when they'll be done by. My expectations remain low here.

Overall, despite my reservations about specifics, I do take this as a sign Cryptic don't intend to pull the plug soon, and that they are genuine about trying to turn the game around. I'm more optimistic than I was two weeks ago, but it all depends on Cryptic's follow-through.

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They strung Hellgate out right until the day they closed the servers, prior to that they promised updates and planned on supporting the product. Just a cautionary tale, Cryptic is not so big they can bleed money to keep us happy.

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Off-topic question:

If you don't mid answering, how'd you get that unique forum title, IIIMystIII? Apologies for such a strange question, but I've seen a couple of your posts and couldn't help but wonder what the explanation behind the title was.

Motto/Creed contest before the launch. I really should make that a sig message. You're the 4th person in a week to ask.

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Honestly, I've moved up the scale from honestly upset and disapointed to cautiously, slightly optimistic.

It's nice to see the Ask Cryptic back, even if only a few questions of the many were answered and even if some of the answers were a little hazy (please ask again later? Damn 8 ball!).

I might be tired and hallucinating, but it does seem that interaction has increased ever so slightly and it does sound like maybe, possibly we will be getting some more free, non "mega" adventure pack type content (maybe).

What Cryptic does in the next few months will really decide if I will be coming back to Champions and sticking with STO. If I see nothing but microtransaction content, I will most likely be packing my bags and waiting for DCUO and SW: TOR. I have plenty of stuff to keep me occupied until then.

Oh and I'm still not paying for VB unless it's VERY cheap.

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Now that was entirely underwhelming.
Not nearly enough questions answered, so over all, its just another example of how low Cryptic values their paying customers.

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They strung Hellgate out right until the day they closed the servers, prior to that they promised updates and planned on supporting the product. Just a cautionary tale, Cryptic is not so big they can bleed money to keep us happy.
Based on how I read the responses, I believe they are genuinely trying to keep the game alive for now. It's a subjective assessment, but it's how I read it.

I'm not saying they won't shut the servers down, and they wouldn't be the first business to appear to be in full swing up to and including the day they shut their doors. So no, I won't be shocked if I'm wrong.

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Nice to see this back and also nice to see different devs responding to the various questions and not (totally) dancing away from some of the harder ones.

That said, there are still lots more questions to answer from the thread asking for questions, so let's continue through that one instead of posting for an entirely new set? I'm fairly certain that I am not the only one that did not get answers from many of the questions that they wanted the answers to.


Even so, the only snippet about future new stuff and solid update info that was gleaned is Tier 4 powers are coming with Vibora Pay. I truly hope hope that they are not literally WITH Vibora Pay, however...

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Not a single world about seeing weapon-pieces in the tailor. I'm terribly dissapointed. =/

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All in all this now has me waiting eagerly for the marvel themed mmo.
I now have complete faith in cryptics lack of will to improve this game in any meaningful way.

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Hi guys, we know you've been waiting for this, so finally, here's our answers:

The game is going great. We've got a lot of things planned for you in the future.
Also, we decided to charge for new powers too. But that's okay, cause it's an expansion.

Oh, btw, melee will be fixed soon.
So please be patient and keep paying just a little longer.


It is my understanding that the carrot-joke was already used twice in this thread, so I'll just stop here and go back to playing AoC.

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- The content will be far more story based and focused on the background of the game
- While our numbers of players is less than we would like
- We’re going to be focusing more on creating content to provide multiple paths of advancement within Champions Online.
- In the long term, we’re working on creating new stories, game play mechanics, and locales for the Champions universe
- That's actually one of the goals of our Tier 4 powers being introduced in our upcoming expansion - to provide high-end thematic meta-powers for each of the power groups.

I am very excited to hear about the new planned updates especially the multiple story paths.
As for adding new powers which could take a while to plan, animate, and balance;
I think there are a lot of powers that are already in the game that could use an overhaul. I'm sure you can data mine the most common / uncommon skills used & use that infomation as a baseline on how to improve current underwhleming powers.
One suggestion I would like to reiterate is the "feel" of Powers outlined below:



:oTurn current powers into Super Duper (looking) Powers :o

This isn't about what powers do, if they need a nerf /buff, etc.
I'm strictly talking about how to make our super powers look super.

Examples:
Ice Burst ~ this skill just looks great because it's big, and intimidating. When used with Shatter, it even adds another ice fragment on the target
Targeting Computer ~ having cross-hairs lock on to targets is really cool looking
Orbital Cannon ~ self explanatory, this skill just looks so bada$$ despite the long cast time

Lets explore the current skills that would benefit from a Super Powered Animation Buff
Bite ~ can't we add some splatter or something to make it look me fierce?
melee skills in general ~ if i had an option to add those classic "POP" "ZONK!", "POW!" words, I would totally use them
Mighty Leap ~ i jump down on someone right? kinda like a Stomp? What if the skill actually squished the target 1/2 way into the ground while leaving an imprint on the ground?
Arrows ~ They stay attached to the target or have some bigger SFX showing the actual hit
What if the Critical Hit number was bigger & a different color?

I'll stop here, but I'm sure the community has much more creative ideas as to how to make our current powers look like Real Super Duper OMG WTF Powers!!

I guess that's why I love my strength character so much, because knocking people back and forth makes me feel like a Real Super Hero!!


http://forums.champions-online.com/showthread.php?t=99749

I am looking forward to CO's future endeavors...

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Yea because MMOs aren't out to make money, they are all fine charities slaving themselves for free right ;) Darn those capitalist pigs. We should be living in a communist government I tell you.

I am getting tired off this bashing of economic models. Communism has nothing to do with what you are implying. For the record, Allods will kick almost every MMO on the market A$$ and guess what? It cost the RUSSAIN company (I believe they are commi's) 12 million bucks to create. Wanna know how much it will cost to play? Zilch. They promised that unlike some companies (Cryptic) that they will not be taking the model of buying in-game uber items or add-on content. Giving detailed examples of how the online store for that game works. Many things make the game less time consuming, but not to the point of breaking the game or making it more pretty for you. Such as less time to wait to rez.

So how are they going to make back that 12 million? Your guess is as good as mine. Btw the example that they used for cheating players links to how Klingons cost money to play in STO.
As long as they continue to give that same amount of love to their product which has been dreamed up by the creator and drawn up into an amazing story that took 15 years...they can put a serious dent in the MMO market.

And finally this leads me to my important point. I know bringing up politics will get a person from Cryptic to notice this. So I just ask Cryptic not to fall into the same issues that WoW is having now. Remember the ambitions the drive and the goals for the product. Remember what was planned and promised. Listen to your customers. This will sound silly coming from a person defending a Russian game, but LOVE equals success. When you love your product to the point of it being the best. To the point of where there is no substitute for you personally, then you will achieve amazing heights.

For anyone else that is reading this take what I typed in yellow into serious consideration if you want to successfully share your vision with the world. If you are caring about your product and working asap to please the customers and ensure that they feel the same way about it, then the money will roll in. You never want to put money first. Just trust me on this.

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I am getting tired off this bashing of economic models. Communism has nothing to do with what you are implying. For the record, Allods will kick almost every MMO on the market A$$ and guess what? It cost the RUSSAIN company (I believe they are commi's) 12 million bucks to create.
Uh - no. Communism collapsed in Russia in 1991.

I don't mean to be rude or flamey, but dude, log off for a while and read a freakin' book. ;)

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As expected, vague promises and nothing concrete. We still don't know exactly what we will get for our subscription and reading between the lines it would seem that the extra content they are adding, supposedly monthly, will be micro-transaction based. If you doubt that, why did they not mention it is free, just like they did for STO?

The carrot and stick analogy has been used, so I will instead use the mushroom, dark and fed on crap one instead. It really seems that they are intent on stringing us along for as long as possible, while they nickel and dime us, until they eventually recycle the servers for STO or their next MMO. They should have posted information like this:

What / When / How / Cost

Tier 4 powers / Q1 / Vibora Bay Expansion / <$15

Melee Power Fix / Q2 / Patch / Free Download

Costume Set / Fortnightly / C Store / 280 Cryptic Points

Note, these are examples NOT based on any facts, as Cryptic don't give many.

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Why create an entire new zone (Vibora Bay) for a level range (37-40) that is already covered by two existing zones? Why not tweak the NPC/quest level upward slightly and raise the level cap to 45?

What was the rationale behind making Fire Flight a standard Travel Power, and Electric Flight and Sorcerous Flight crafted Devices, when both of the latter Travel Powers are just as suitable for existing power trees as Fire Flight is to the Fire tree, when the Arms Crafted Travel Power is not related to a specific tree? Why not make Electric and Sorcerous Flight into standard Travel Powers and make all three Crafted Travel Powers into unique, non-tree-specific abilities?

Why is the Lasso Device still a 10-minute cooldown for a special FX Iron Lariat effect?

Are Device Powers that are also appropriate for Power Trees, such as Magician's Dust for Martial Arts and Taser Gun for Munitions, ever going to become selectable PC powers, or will they remain (usually charged) Devices? Obviously some would need rebalancing, but incorporating already-existing powers from Devices would add more variety to existing power trees, and thus, characters.

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Hmmm.........well, as expected, Cryptic didn't choose to answer every question...but I'm surprised to see how much they did decide to answer. We know for instance that they're working for tier four abilities to be out by the VB expansion. We know that they're planning on adding Real content bimonthly, and we know that Devs are actually paying some attention to the forums...

I think its far too early to make much more than wild assumptions based on this information...But I'm feeling alot better about things in general based on the content of the messages. Cryptic seems to recognize their faults thus far, and they seem to be making a move towards fixing them ("Soon TM" in particular seems to indicate a pretty accurate understanding of their community.)

I will say that I don't read All the content improvements as being expansion based (it actually sounds more like an event based thing to me)...at least I see no implication of that....that said, I think it'd cut off alot of doomsaying if the Devs would be kind enough to clarify that point...

Oh...and not a one of my Qs got an A....I'm a sad penguin now :(

[Archived Post]

Well, there wasn,t many powers that were removed during alpha. Modified? Maybe. but completely removed from the game? not really or not enough to do an update with them.

anyway, we already have new powers that weren't there during alpha/closed beta. What makes you think they won't make new powers in the future? I'm pretty sure they are already working on some.

We are talking about the same company that ignored testers before release, chose to fix the lack of content by nerfing mob exp(AFTER release) creating gaps in the content that they will now fix by charging players for more content to fix a problem they created.

Bad management draws me to my conclusion. The extra powers were probably thrown in after the forums ignited with fury. I don't think they've been working on them all along.

[Archived Post]

Although better, still too vague.

Touchy Issue: If I read that correctly about the expansion we will have to pay for new powersets at T4? These powersets won't be available unless we buy the expansion? (A low resonating growl begins to immenate in the distance)


I would like to ask everyone, for the next "Ask Cryptic Thread" please use the unanswered questions from the Current "ask Cryptic" thread that they neglected. Don't be lulled into submission just yet.

[Archived Post]

You all had a ton of great questions for us, and we've sent them out for answers! Want to know if your question got answered? Well, take a look and see! Then, make sure you join us in one week's time when we post our next Ask Cryptic!

Link to the news article. (http://www.champions-online.com/node/594835)

Your communication is most appreciated. I'm looking forward to the enhancements of the game and whatever will come up within the next month'..

[Archived Post]

This may sound strange, but I am actually glad they are not doing a Valentines Day event. I would rather have them work on fixing all the current bugs in the game before they add any more content, balance powers, etc. I'm sooo sick of controls that don't work correctly. :(

[Archived Post]

Well, they did answer some of the questions and were a bit vague on others. All in all I was glad to hear about their re-involvement into the game. Glad to hear they actually talked about some of the things we wanted, but did I miss something?

Was there anything about V-Bay and charging us for it? Because that was asked a LOT and should have been covered I think.

I hope they continue to do the Ask Cryptic, but are not as selective on which tough questions they will answer. :cool:

It is a step in the right direction and I think its a good start.

[Archived Post]

Although better, still too vague.

Touchy Issue: If I read that correctly about the expansion we will have to pay for new powersets at T4? These powersets won't be available unless we buy the expansion? (A low resonating growl begins to immenate in the distance)


I would like to ask everyone, for the next "Ask Cryptic Thread" please use the unanswered questions from the Current "ask Cryptic" thread that they neglected. Don't be lulled into submission just yet.

Aye, I agree with this post!

[Archived Post]

So I just ask Cryptic not to fall into the same issues that WoW is having now.

What issues would these be? The ones where they make changes on their game based on player feedback? or the issues that have lead to the game becoming the most popular, most played, and most successful mmo? Not saying WoW is perfect, nothing is perfect, but it is the current mmo that all must compete with,

If Cryptic were to apply the methods Blizzard uses for informing their player base of upcoming changes, the player base here would be far more placate.

[Archived Post]

Why create an entire new zone (Vibora Bay) for a level range (37-40) that is already covered by two existing zones? Why not tweak the NPC/quest level upward slightly and raise the level cap to 45?
They answered this question in the forum. Long story short, raising the level cap means adding new powers, balancing new talents, new crafting recipes, adding more columns to spreadsheets, etc. All of which needs to be balanced and tested a lot more thoroughly than new content within the current framework. If they don't raise the level cap, they can get Vibora Bay out sooner, which they seemed to indicate would be primarily end game stuff.

What was the rationale behind making Fire Flight a standard Travel Power, and Electric Flight and Sorcerous Flight crafted Devices, when both of the latter Travel Powers are just as suitable for existing power trees as Fire Flight is to the Fire tree, when the Arms Crafted Travel Power is not related to a specific tree? Why not make Electric and Sorcerous Flight into standard Travel Powers and make all three Crafted Travel Powers into unique, non-tree-specific abilities?
If they had created crafted travel powers that nobody wanted, it would've defeated the purpose of creating them, wouldn't it?

[Archived Post]

Meanwhile, we’ve got some other things afoot (and some of you might be able to deduce what that is) and we’ll talk about it more soon.

This is an "Ask Cryptic". You are supposed to divulge information to us, not beat around the bush saying "We know a secret, and it's awesome... but we can't tell you". This is not increasing communication. The things you are not telling us for whatever reason is content you plan to develop. I do not see how this information should be shrouded in secret, but if it has to be don't say anything. Nothing at all, not "we are doing things we can't tell you".

This behavior really needs to end. Whoever it is telling you guys you need to keep things from us needs to re-think their position on that.


The upcoming expansion is an excellent example of our plan to make the game bigger and better while also addressing the desires of our players.

The desires of the players are for this expansion to be free. I forget who said it, but they were dead on when they said you have not earned the rights or respect to charge us for content yet.

We learned a great many lessons from Champions, and I think you can see some of that knowledge expressed in how we ran our beta testing and approached content creation in Star Trek Online.

We are not allowed to talk about other games on this forum, neither are you. The community is already very upset and under the assumption that you are using Champs as a stepping stone for STO, and this response has done nothing to change that.

We also want to provide more ways and reasons for players to group, which is what much of the Flashback and Difficulty Slider work has been focused on.

A step in the right direction. Now please do the right thing and make the experience curve and other rewards for doing so worth it.

We’re increasing our presence in the community and being more open and communicative with you so you know what we’re thinking and working on.

Oh really??

Aside from a ton of things that we just can't talk about right now...

We have plans to add more free content to the game very soon, not seasonal stuff, and we'll be talking about that shortly.

...

Our melee review is currently underway. It is a massive review that involves 5 full framework reviews as well as an overall look at melee as a whole. It’s too early to give an ETA but rest assured is it being worked on.

Too early for an ETA is understandable, as things happen and can take longer than expected. But what are you doing? What are your plans? How far along are you? How about you tell us what you are planning so you can get the input from the community to decide what to do?

[Archived Post]

Saving my thoughts for the promised State of the Game. I didnt really see anything in the ask Cryptic that shouldn't have been what they were focusing on in the first place. I expect the state of the game to get into more specifics as to how they are going to deliver on these things.

[Archived Post]

Given the answers, though some questions were dodged, I feel a little better about the future of CO. Having said that, I still will not pay for Vibora Bay until I believe the actual game is fixed itself. The camera and control bugs from the kitchen sink patch are among my most hated aspects of the game as it is.

I am currently most interested in the Melee pass. Having heard the gripes about melee, I never created a melee character, but this past week I did, because it fit his theme, and I must say that melee is underpowered indeed. Granted I haven't leveled this character tremendously, but from what I have seen, melee needs an overhaul.

[Archived Post]

Not a single world about seeing weapon-pieces in the tailor. I'm terribly dissapointed. =/

You said it.

[Archived Post]

I'm not happy that Cryptic appears is moving from Jack's near-promise last summer that microtransactions are for "aesthetics". I didn't cough up for a LT in order to get nickel and dimed in order to fix some of the game's design flaws, such as linear progression, low replayablity.

I would LOVE to have someone, anyone, at Cryptic lay out specifically what microtransactions are now for. New content? New powers? New sets? New costume pieces? New gameplay features, like housing? All of the above?

Instead, I get the feeling we're being deliberately strung along with hard promises for transaction-based updates and much softer promises for free updates beyond balance and bug fixes.

[Archived Post]

What is the old saying

People want their cake and eat it too....

Please dont smack my hand this is spam

Cryptic is damned if they damned if they dont.

People thay are going down the right path...there is a lite at the end of the tunnel

Chill..relax..play and have fun...

[Archived Post]

... they would just allow you to gain xp from critters at ALL levels. Sure, the farther they are from your current level, the less subjective xp you get. But, you should get SOMETHING.

If someone wants to create a level 40 in Tutorial, let them get xp from the critters, not just the Public mission. If they can get what they want from 1 - 15 xp per defeat .... LET THEM.

Biggest mistake was taking away the xp gained from all critters and limiting us to only getting it from as far down as 4 levels below. This just sews you into a narrower and narrower path. Open it up and now you have ALL areas of all zones with the ability to gain xp. Pretty simple.

[Archived Post]

I'm not happy that Cryptic appears is moving from Jack's near-promise last summer that microtransactions are for "aesthetics". I didn't cough up for a LT in order to get nickel and dimed in order to fix some of the game's design flaws, such as linear progression, low replayablity.

I would LOVE to have someone, anyone, at Cryptic lay out specifically what microtransactions are now for. New content? New powers? New sets? New costume pieces? New gameplay features, like housing? All of the above?

Instead, I get the feeling we're being deliberately strung along with hard promises for transaction-based updates and much softer promises for free updates beyond balance and bug fixes.

Where are you getting this nonsense from?

[Archived Post]

Where are you getting this nonsense from?

Source (http://forums.champions-online.com/showthread.php?t=23349).

Further up someone posted the complete text.

So, no, not nonsense.

But thanks for coming by :)

[Archived Post]

Where are you getting this nonsense from?

I think the "nonsense" started with MT's not being important on their list and then the sudden turn around on it. V-Bay is going to cost cash. Also, read the Answers to Ask Cryptic...the way its worded, it sounds like the new big powers coming out are going to be part of V-Bay. So, to get those powers would infact...yeah, you got it...cost money!!!

[Archived Post]

If they had created crafted travel powers that nobody wanted, it would've defeated the purpose of creating them, wouldn't it?

Sure, this is true, but the person you quoted had a good point. Electrical Flight should be available to an Electrical based person as Fire Flight is to a fire based toon...

This is just my opinion but I feel "Crafted" travel powers should not be based on Super Powers. Like Mystic Flight should be selectable travel power and not crafted. Now a wizard/witch, riding around on a Broom, or a giant owl well then THOSE would be crafted travel powers.

[Archived Post]

And, just to emphasize my point, here's a quote from that July 15 post, "We’re going to release a WHOLE lot of information in the very near future about not just about microtransactions, but pricing in general."

Bwahahahahahaha.

Yup, Jack promised to keep us in the loop about microtransactions and pricing.

[Archived Post]

Duke Nukem Forever is going to be sweet, please be patient.

[Archived Post]

Am I the only one who was disapointed that it was only 6 questions? Seriously? After the hype and the wait since the last one I expected to have to read through a couple of pages, and get specifics. Unless I missed something, I feel like I've been blown off. Nothing addressing the concerns over the new paid expansion, nothing about viewing weapons at the tailor (which was mentioned every page of the dev chat forum post), nothing about the daily gripes in the forums. Sorry devs, but this did nothing for me. All generic talk that at this point I blow off like a politicians speech.

[Archived Post]

Considering the low state of the game over the last few months I expected this Ask Cryptic to be general information. I concur with Mighty_Pencil and other posters' assessments that now really was the time for some concrete facts rather than more generalities, and that some specific issues such as Vibora Bay and other issues repeatedly questioned in the solicitation thread should have been addressed and were not even given general statements. I don't expect Daeke's departure to be addressed one way or the other as that's not how things are done in business these days.

I'm a lifer so I don't have to go anywhere, but my wife has cancelled her monthly account. She's relying on me to let her know if anything concrete starts showing up from Cryptic, but we're also interested to see what Cryptic will do to reach out to those who have already left.

Edit: To clarify, I expected this Ask Cryptic to be only general information because I don't think Cryptic has been paying much attention to the state of the game at all, and they are now working to catch up, so generalities are all they really have. Whether it is to little too late remains to be seen.

[Archived Post]

Duke Nukem Forever is going to be sweet, please be patient.

Not as rocking as Half-Life 2: Episode 3!

[Archived Post]

I'll cut off this speculation before it even begins. Tier 4 powers will be part of our first paid content expansion. I can't talk pricing yet, but it will not be something on the scale of a full retcon. They are new powers, and will be priced accordingly.

Lol.

You're fired! :)

[Archived Post]

BigOtter: That's actually one of the goals of our Tier 4 powers being introduced in our upcoming expansion - to provide high-end thematic meta-powers for each of the power groups.

My biggest concern is that Cryptic is going back on their word that nothing purchased with microtransactions would give players an advantage. If they start charging for new powers I'd say that is one hell of an advantage! Let's hope that this was just a poorly worded lack of information. :confused:

[Archived Post]

BigOtter: That's actually one of the goals of our Tier 4 powers being introduced in our upcoming expansion - to provide high-end thematic meta-powers for each of the power groups.

My biggest concern is that Cryptic is going back on their word that nothing purchased with microtransactions would give players an advantage. If they start charging for new powers I'd say that is one hell of an advantage! Let's hope that this was just a poorly worded lack of information. :confused:

They day they do that is the day they've lost me forever as a customer.

[Archived Post]

There is no reason Cryptic couldn't make it so you download the new expansion as a patch and all the changes are there, you simply can't zone into Vibora Bay without having paid for access. It would not be unlike what Blizzard does with expansions. Things like achievements, class changes, etc. are there for all players, just not the new content and classes. With Cataclysm they have mentioned that the changes to the old world would be available to all players regardless of buying expansion or not.

I'd imagine that Tier 4 powers will be available to all, perhaps a quest to unlock them like Celestial tied to the new zone to get it first, but if you don't buy the expansion you would get them at worst after a short delay, just like Celestial.

They have said that nothing that effects gameplay would be made purchase only and the repercussion of suddenly saying Tier 4 powers are only available if you pay us, even though they will effect balance, would be a disastrous PR blunder and it's something Cryptic can't afford right now.

[Archived Post]

BigOtter: That's actually one of the goals of our Tier 4 powers being introduced in our upcoming expansion - to provide high-end thematic meta-powers for each of the power groups.

My biggest concern is that Cryptic is going back on their word that nothing purchased with microtransactions would give players an advantage. If they start charging for new powers I'd say that is one hell of an advantage! Let's hope that this was just a poorly worded lack of information. :confused:
I don't think it was poorly worded; I think that Cryptic's guidelines for what should and should not be available as MTs has changed since The July 15 Post. But it'd be nice if Jack would grow a pair, give us some potentially bad news, and spell out what the current vision for MTs is.

[Archived Post]

Damage control only mildly successful. A lot of good questions, a lot of angry questions, and a lot of needed questions have still not been addressed.

For one, it seems that the "how will you restore confidence to the players" was skirted.

[Archived Post]

Uh - no. Communism collapsed in Russia in 1991.

I don't mean to be rude or flamey, but dude, log off for a while and read a freakin' book. ;)

LOL! You beat me to the "current events" punch, brother.

[Archived Post]

And Cryptic - respectfully, could we please get a page like this for your Champions?

http://www.startrekonline.com/upcoming_content

[Archived Post]

And Cryptic - respectfully, could we please get a page like this for your Champions?

http://www.startrekonline.com/upcoming_content

Nice, but let's see what it looks like four or five months from now for STO before we say we're being short-changed.

Editorial edit: I mean short-changed in comparison to STO. People's opinions about being short-shanged in general are stated elsewhere. :)

[Archived Post]

Fenian, let me preface by saying you always have intelligent and well considered posts.

And to clarify - I'm not saying necessarily that we're shortchanged in contrast. Just that this sort of sneak preview page would go a long way to marketing their product and bolstering player retention.

[Archived Post]

You all had a ton of great questions for us, and we've sent them out for answers!]
I'm mildly surprised that you actually took harder questions to answer. Obviously I'd prefer even more detailed answers, but I appreciate that you took them in the first place.

The questions that you did take at least lets me know that you think those questions are problem areas so that is a good start. We'll see what we see about what happens next.

[Archived Post]

I don't think it was poorly worded; I think that Cryptic's guidelines for what should and should not be available as MTs has changed since The July 15 Post. But it'd be nice if Jack would grow a pair, give us some potentially bad news, and spell out what the current vision for MTs is.Considering the Pre-Order system changed since that post also, it is not surprising at all. Then again, they may not consider VB a "microtransaction" and therefore it can change game play and not go back on their "promise"

[Archived Post]

Fenian, let me preface by saying you always have intelligent and well considered posts.

And to clarify - I'm not saying necessarily that we're shortchanged in contrast. Just that this sort of sneak preview page would go a long way to marketing their product and bolstering player retention.

Thanks, I don't post often so when I do I try to be even-handed. Or clever. Sometimes I give in to clever. :D

I think CO has had similar splash pages such as you link to for STO. The Halloween and Winter events were detailed, and there's other info supplied such as Nemesis Confrontation. But more info would definitely be better, and would help to hopefully draw players back.

[Archived Post]

Unless Cryptic starts advertising this game it's going under . Keeping the current player base will not bring in enough revenue for it to continue in it's current state . Anyone who has played Hellgate , Tabula , or Matrix Online can tell you what killed their favorite games . Don't let this game die . For @#$@ sakes , STO had a promotional deal with Del Taco that brought so many people it flooded their servers to the point of instability last weekend . My question is WHEN WILL YOU START ADVERTISING THIS GAME SOMEPLACE NOTICEABLE ? If an answer to this question is not forthcoming , or it is answered in an extremely dodgy way , it's over . We need new players . Quickly . Clock's ticking Cryptic . Prove you care about the game .

[Archived Post]

Unless they start giving away free sour patch kid gummies they will go under

[Archived Post]

Hmmm. Answered the second part of my question, but not the 1st.

And really, guys, nothing at all about Vibora Pay makes this a charade.

And weapons in the tailors, something even CoH could do quite some time ago now. Asked several times in the questions thread. Still nothing?

[Archived Post]

Unless Cryptic starts advertising this game it's going under . Keeping the current player base will not bring in enough revenue for it to continue in it's current state . Anyone who has played Hellgate , Tabula , or Matrix Online can tell you what killed their favorite games . Don't let this game die . For @#$@ sakes , STO had a promotional deal with Del Taco that brought so many people it flooded their servers to the point of instability last weekend . My question is WHEN WILL YOU START ADVERTISING THIS GAME SOMEPLACE NOTICEABLE ? If an answer to this question is not forthcoming , or it is answered in an extremely dodgy way , it's over . We need new players . Quickly . Clock's ticking Cryptic . Prove you care about the game .

You are aware that they've been advertising in, of all places, comic books, aren't you?

[Archived Post]

Hmmm. Answered the second part of my question, but not the 1st.

And really, guys, nothing at all about Vibora Pay makes this a charade.

And weapons in the tailors, something even CoH could do quite some time ago now. Asked several times in the questions thread. Still nothing?

Heh, while they did answer SOME things it was pretty general. Heres my favorite line from the Answer Page:

Arkayne: Aside from a ton of things that we just can't talk about right now, but will be very soon, we're actively making a couple of changes around here: We're stepping up the communication.

Stepping up communications AND can't talk about it now...all in one breath!

Actually I am glad they are starting to open up on some things, it really is a step in the right direction, but I wish they would tackle some of our bigger concerns like V-Bay.

Glad to hear they will be getting more involved in actually playing the game. Come on in, the city is a little "Thuggy" but quite fun! The game DOES have a lot going on, just needs some TLC at the moment.

[Archived Post]

You are aware that they've been advertising in, of all places, comic books, aren't you?

Comic books? For a super hero game? Thats just crazy! Crazy, I tell ya!

[Archived Post]

You are aware that they've been advertising in, of all places, comic books, aren't you?

Omg. Please tell me you are kidding . Please. That isn't gonna bring nearly enough people .

[Archived Post]

They answered this question in the forum. Long story short, raising the level cap means adding new powers, balancing new talents, new crafting recipes, adding more columns to spreadsheets, etc. All of which needs to be balanced and tested a lot more thoroughly than new content within the current framework. If they don't raise the level cap, they can get Vibora Bay out sooner, which they seemed to indicate would be primarily end game stuff.
1) New powers aren't necessary. Characters would receive new power slots at 41 and 44 of 45, which can simply be spent on two new existing powers; most current powers scale with attributes/level automatically, so little actual testing would be necessary beyond "does this work?"

2) Talent point gains stop somewhere in the early 30s, if I remember correctly.

3) New crafting recipes aren't necessary, as the existing Epic items would work fine for a 5 level cap raise, considering that Vibora Bay does not have any (known) raid content, which is where differences in item stats actually become important.

4) What kind of database system are they using that requires testing of adding new columns? Most iterative systems I'm familiar with are a set of functions based on column number/character level that calculate and add fixed-rate gains automatically, requiring nothing more than increasing the max column number value.
If they had created crafted travel powers that nobody wanted, it would've defeated the purpose of creating them, wouldn't it?
Yes, it would, which is why most people don't seem to want to bother with the Crafted Travel Powers. That, and the horrible level of grind required, and the frustration of having to grind out the requirements for a travel power that fits an existing framework but wasn't made available in general. That's my point: make all three Crafted Travel Powers different and unique, like the Arms power, rather than a more or less standard Flight ability with VFX appropriate to an existing power framework.

[Archived Post]

What was the rationale behind making Fire Flight a standard Travel Power, and Electric Flight and Sorcerous Flight crafted Devices, when both of the latter Travel Powers are just as suitable for existing power trees as Fire Flight is to the Fire tree, when the Arms Crafted Travel Power is not related to a specific tree? Why not make Electric and Sorcerous Flight into standard Travel Powers and make all three Crafted Travel Powers into unique, non-tree-specific abilities?
...If they had created crafted travel powers that nobody wanted, it would've defeated the purpose of creating them, wouldn't it?
Sure, this is true, but the person you quoted had a good point. Electrical Flight should be available to an Electrical based person as Fire Flight is to a fire based toon...

This is just my opinion but I feel "Crafted" travel powers should not be based on Super Powers. Like Mystic Flight should be selectable travel power and not crafted. Now a wizard/witch, riding around on a Broom, or a giant owl well then THOSE would be crafted travel powers.
Squidi, please tell me your not defending the LACK of customizable travel powers issue?
I'd seriously loose respect for you if you are.

FLIGHT needs "Aura's", and "Foci"...
...'Nuff said


Unless Cryptic starts advertising this game it's going under...For @#$@ sakes , STO had a promotional deal with Del Taco that brought so many people it flooded their servers to the point of instability last weekend . My question is WHEN WILL YOU START ADVERTISING THIS GAME SOMEPLACE NOTICEABLE ?...
You are aware that they've been advertising in, of all places, comic books, aren't you?
Omg. Please tell me you are kidding ...Please... That isn't gonna bring nearly enough people.
CO is advertised in "Comic books", while STO is advertised at "Taco Bell" AND the "SciFi" channel ?!?!

Is it any wonder why CO is hemorrhaging players?


...Talent point gains stop somewhere in the early 30s, if I remember correctly...
No recrimination here Aesirgard, but i find it just plain sad (in reference to CO's current state of affairs, not you) that it's been so long since you played that you didn't know Talents stop at 21.

[Archived Post]

Squidi, please tell me your not defending the LACK of customizable travel powers issue?
I'd seriously loose respect for you if you are.
Nope, I'm not. I'm saying they should make Sorcerous Flight and Electrical Flight into new standard powers, and add two new ones for Crafted.
No recrimination here Aesirgard, but i find it just plain sad (in reference to CO's current state of affairs, not you) that it's been so long since you played that you didn't know Talents stop at 21.
Meh, I got the cutoff point slightly wrong, that's all.

[Archived Post]

...Meh, I got the cutoff point slightly wrong, that's all.
I know.
It's just that means it's been a while since you played.
it's the WHY you haven't played in a while that's sad that I'm talking about.
Again, no recriminations :cool:

[Archived Post]

You all had a ton of great questions for us, and we've sent them out for answers! Want to know if your question got answered? Well, take a look and see! Then, make sure you join us in one week's time when we post our next Ask Cryptic!

Link to the news article. (http://www.champions-online.com/node/594835)

Appearntly seven (I think it was seven?) equals a ton. Who knew?

Also not too surprised that none of my questions were answered. Not too surprised that the more "meaty" questions weren't answered either.

The more things change, eh?

EDIT: Just to be fair, perhaps they will answer more later and do this in an "installment" format.

[Archived Post]

Can we expect future content that doesn't require pulling out our wallets?

[Archived Post]

And Cryptic - respectfully, could we please get a page like this for your Champions?

http://www.startrekonline.com/upcoming_content

Bill already touched on it, the sites going to get a revamp. I am sure Diamonds is already hard at work on it ;)

[Archived Post]

Can we expect future content that doesn't require pulling out our wallets?

This post has been edited to remove content which violates the Cryptic Studios Forum Usage Guidelines (http://forums.startrekonline.com/announcement.php?f=36&a=2) ~Seadgir

[Archived Post]

we have a lot of uproar about teaming, but i like it this way just fine.
so my question is simple, will you guy's make the game really based on teamplay or only make sellected parts team-worthy?

[Archived Post]

Appearntly seven (I think it was seven?) equals a ton. Who knew?

Also not too surprised that none of my questions were answered. Not too surprised that the more "meaty" questions weren't answered either.

The more things change, eh?

EDIT: Just to be fair, perhaps they will answer more later and do this in an "installment" format.

Yup, yup, I also count 7 answers.
To be fair, they said there was a ton of Questions, not a ton of Answers.

Couple of the answers I was happy with :)

[Archived Post]

Mighty Pencil: Can we expect future content that doesn't require pulling out our wallets?
Yep, they announced that Vibora Pay is now free.

They really did mean that more details would be coming soon.

This new communication and customer relations thing seems to be working...

New content for free! Now we just need to get incremental bug squashing done :)

[Archived Post]

I am strangely encouraged by this sudden show of good will from Cryptic.
I guess I will stick around.

[Archived Post]

if we are getting Tier 4 we need to see things in many power sets to help us stick to them. Defensive passives and Blocks primarily but perhaps crowd controll and aoe's for sets missing these.

[Archived Post]

Mighty Pencil: Can we expect future content that doesn't require pulling out our wallets?
Yep, they announced that Vibora Pay is now free.See, that's no longer what I consider to be a future update, so I worded it wrong, sue me.

I don't want them to try charging for a full blown zone for a good long while. That's why I felt the need to ask, even though they aren't likely to answer a hard question like that one.

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I know.
It's just that means it's been a while since you played.
it's the WHY you haven't played in a while that's sad that I'm talking about.
Again, no recriminations :cool:
You want the truth? Okay...

1) No one I know personally plays CO at this point. They're either on STO, or got fed up with all the mess going on because they're programmers and are extremely discontent with the programming-related problems that plague CO.

2) I'm still irritated with the Crafted Travel Powers and, given the lack of high-level content, there isn't a heck of a lot else for me to do, given that I'm not feeling terribly like going back over the quest line again for my lower level characters.

3) I can't currently afford to upgrade my system to something that'll let me run CO well and have CO look good - right now, I have an either/or choice.

4) I'm just tired of the circus. I've hit what I think of as Catastrophe Overload which, amusingly enough, can also make the acronym CO; I'm watching the forums to see when Cryptic gets things together sufficiently for me to be interested in playing it again. Vibora Bay might be enough, we'll see.

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That is a REALLY bad sign, considering that STO left beta about three to six months too early, and without enough content for the level curve (forcing players to grind spec encounters and such to make up level gaps).
I

I know this comment has nothing to do with this thread, but I just cant let it pass. If you were "forced to grind spec encounters and such etc".. you have some very weak gaming skills.


I got to the cap in a week with no grinding. Don't blame your complete lack of efficiency on cryptic.

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I got to the cap in a week with no grinding. Don't blame your complete lack of efficiency on cryptic.

No you didn't. You just didn't. There aren't enough missions for that. You were either PvPing, or you did space encounters more than once, because if all you do is PvE content once each then you start lagging further and further behind the intended level for the mission until you run out of available missions. There's no "you suck" about it, it's not that the game was "too hard" to advance through, there just wasn't enough content given the XP provided. Not only that, but if you could manage to get to the cap in a week with no grinding, then that would represent a rather pathetic lack of a life, becaue it would mean FAR too many hours spent playing within a given week.

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we have are foes when are we going to to be able to make are lovers and friends ,like aunt may, lois lanes and she them kidnap by your foes...

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i like to see more powers sry if i sound greedy but where is the strechying powers, energy blast, grappling moves,( i want pick up my villians and slam in the ground), acid, radiation,shape shifting,earth powers,invisibilty, walking thought walls, sonic screams,super sense,water powers

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is there any chance in the future of my focus my super stenght into my hammer, or throwing my weapon or enegry out my weapon

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any chance get a motorcycle or hovercycle or car , having windfly, tiger or horse