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MetaVileTerror

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Posts posted by MetaVileTerror

    Make Transfusion and Transference affect allies around you

    in Suggestions & Feedback

    Posted

    As a player who has a main Hero which is Kinetics since 2004, I'll say this:  Getting in to the thick of things to benefit from Kinetics' gameplay mechanics has been insanely rewarding and engaging compared to almost all the other characters I've played.  Kinetics isn't a "backline" Support Set; it's a dynamic one, which can be truly effective when used by someone willing to be a team leader.  Calling out when and where your Powers will come in to effect is MASSIVE, and Kinetics really reaches its apex when you're able to effectively communicate with your team.  

     

    I'm all-for leaving Transfusion and Transference unchanged.  Thank you.

    Suggestion - Devs give us feedback on what they like or is possible

    in Suggestions & Feedback

    Posted

    Some excellent points, Sijin, but there is still something that could help a LOT, and that's the design and development philosophy which the Homecoming Team have here.  As it stands, it's a really nebulous, with the "feels like home" catchphrase.  There's a lot of ways which pertinent information regarding the present and future development could be shared while mitigating miscommunication.  

     

    I've seen the attempt to justify a lack of communication with "but people will take it the wrong way" quite a lot.  Not just here, mind you, but in the industry at large.  Thing is, that level of media blackout doesn't help the players or the developers . . . it's a systematically cultured "standard" to help the P.R. and marketing sectors.  Open, honest, and complete communication between the playerbase and the dev teams is possible, and it does work.  Clear lines of communication has a proven track record of being healthy for the game and its community even when the Devs announce controversial plans.  Speak to Chris Bourassa and Tyler Sigman, or Justin Ma and Matthew Davis.  Their games THRIVED not just because they're great games, but because of the level of clear, concise communication with their players about their intentions AND limitations.

     

    And that's the big one:  Limitations.  We have a few regular posters in these forums who seem to love to say this-or-that is "impossible."  Whatever their reasons are, they're feeding in to that same standard culture I mentioned earlier.  They're the sort of people my team would try to encourage to have the community "self-regulate" more effectively.  If you missed it in the gated-content thread, I worked in the games industry in a series of roles which gave me insight in to the methods and intent behind deliberate manipulation of information.  It's also why I got out of the industry.

     

    Information blackouts do not help the players, and they do not help the developers.  Clear, honest communication helps both.

    Of course, the Homecoming Team are very busy, and this is volunteer work.  I realize my tone and my choice of words rarely emphasizes just how much I appreciate their continued efforts, and how grateful I am for all that's been done.  But I'm passionate about this game, its future, and what it means to potentially /sticking-it/ to my past bosses.  I want Homecoming and the City of Heroes revival projects to succeed, not just for the game to be back, but for what it means to the industry and its systemic decay under the weight of fiscally-driven tampering.  And so I am trying, as hard as I can, to communicate the importance of shrugging off the habits instilled in professional developers which actively hamper and sabotage those same developers.

    I hope I can find the words to explain how important this is, and I do hope that some engagement on the subject can occur.  If not with the Development Team members directly (again, they're busy and they're volunteers, I get that, and I'm thankful for their time), then with some elected member of the Community Representatives.

     

    As a stretch goal (since I know this is a big ask, even to a paid employee), I'd like to see a C.R. whose role it is to delineate the current development cycle:

    - the number of members on a given task

    - the level of commitment those members are able to provide (volunteers, after all, have more impactful commitments in their lives)

    - the confidence of those team members in their ability to deliver

    - the date of the last time the C.R. had an update from the team members,

    - the future plans in a similar level of detail.  

    Naturally, none of this would be written in stone; it would be a constant on-going progress report.  But it would give the players a direct line in to what's really going on.  It would allow for more meaningful dialogues and discussions, with pointed feedback, and could be a great way to seek out new talent willing to help with specific issues or new content.

    Even a portion of that information would be appreciated.  Just something to help the community KNOW, rather than constantly speculate in the dark.  Even just a more meaningful mission statement than "feels like home," please.

     

    Thank you for your time, hard work, and consideration.  I know I forget to say that, so sorry for saying it not-quite-often-enough.

    • Like 3

    It is 2019: How would you update the city?

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    So, I was doing a little research, and I found an official AMA answer to the bus question posed earlier in this thread:

     

    Source:  https://paragonwiki.com/wiki/Lore_AMA (2014)

    Q) Simple question… where were all the buses?? Plenty of Bus Stops, but no buses! Silly cosmetic thing really, but were buses ever planned? I’m sure I’m not the only one who’s asked this? (@Wolfybane)

    A) Matt Miller (Positron) Sadly no. The Paragon Transit Authority switched over to 100% Monorail system shortly before 2002, but the bus stops still brought in ad revenue, so they kept them around instead of demolishing them

    A) Melissa Bianco (War Witch) If someone didn't cap off a monorail correctly, you'd get buses, of a sort. Monorails would hop the tracks and wander down streets with the cars. My question is how, considering how many ambulances were part of the atmospheric SFX no one really noticed there weren't any on the streets.

    • Like 1

    Put the Statesman Task Force and Lord Recluse Strike Force back as they were

    in Suggestions & Feedback

    Posted · Edited by MetaVileTerror
    Additional Information

    uh, the A.M.A.s revealed that the plan -WAS- to have Tyrant come back, actually, and don the mantle of Statesman during the First Invasion of the Battalion.  But that Primal Statesman would stay dead.  I'll see if I can find the link . . . 

     

    Found it.

    https://paragonwiki.com/wiki/Lore_AMA (2014)

    Q)Would Tyrant redeem himself and take Statesman place? (@Night Prowler)

    A) Chris Behrens (Baryonyx) - There were some idle discussions that mentioned this as a possibility. To my memory, it was not settled, however.

    A) Matt Miller (Positron) That was my plan. After he broke Praetoria he would see the error in his ways and redeem himself taking up the mantle of his former enemy. I know some of the writers pushed back on this saying that “Statesman is dead-dead, no backsies.” I would like to point out that this respected that and also got us our marketing poster-child back at the same time. :)

    A) John Hegner (Protean) - I had a vision for Tyrant’s redemption as basically playing out similar to Hannibal Lecter. When the going gets tough for Earth, Vanguard turns to the one man who has been the Well’s Champion for some insight into how to stop Battalion. Cole basically points out that what Earth is lacking is a symbol to rally behind. Statesman was that symbol for Primal Earth, just as Emperor Cole was that symbol for Praetoria.

    In a massive PR move, Lady Grey and Vanguard basically convince the world (and the players) that Statesman has been resurrected. But really it’s Emperor Cole just carrying the symbol forward in order to rally Earth’s forces. I had ultimately wanted him to try to sacrifice everything in one last hurrah, but Cole’s curse would be that he could never become the man he was destined to be on Primal Earth, and would be forced to survive time and time again, never achieving the redemption and glory in death he so desired.

    This truth would come out issues later and cause some massive issues between Ms. Liberty and Vanguard.

    The Request We have all been dreading, but knew was coming...

    in Suggestions & Feedback

    Posted

    I'm of two minds on this suggestion.

     

    On the one hand:  Time saver!  I have over 115 Alts, spanning roughly 3/4s of a dozen accounts.  While I imagine that it's unlikely that I could share my Badges across accounts, even having to only worry about them on one account at a time could be helpful.

     

    On the other hand:  I kind of like to define my characters with particular Badges, and it adds a certain element to roleplay for other players to see what sorts of activities a particular character of mine has been up to.

     

     . . . so, as I am wont to do from time to time to almost-all-the-bloody-time:  COMPROMISE!

    (Disclaimer:  This idea would take more work than just making everything universally Account-wide, but . . . that's me!)

    Have a greyed-out version of each Badge which is unlocked on every Alt per Account, which the user can select for the Badge Title, but doesn't translate to any other benefit (such as Accolades, Day Jobs, or Gladiators).  Then, the player can unlock those specific Badges on that Alt the normal way, replacing the greyscale version with the full-colour version of the Badge, and also unlocking any associated benefits.

     

    Honestly, though . . . I kind of think this one can go on the backburner of a backstove in the backkitchen.  If a random volunteer wants to tackle it; awesome!  But I don't think it's worthwhile putting on the Homecoming Roadmap of Development (if we ever get such a thing).

    • Like 3
    • Haha 1
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