EggKookoo

Yup, I even said as much upthread. SF > fantasy > superheroes in the game space. That sounds about right.

Yes, this is what I was getting at. The topic of popularity was in the context of game markets, and in the broader sense of "what does WoW do better?" WoW tapped a larger game market. Independently of this, I do think the current trend of superhero popularity is, well, not quite an illusion, but isn't quite as self-generated as it might seem. It's mostly the popularity of the MCU, and a lot of other studios and companies are along for the ride. And the MCU is mostly popular due to the creative efforts of people like Feige and the talents of people like RDJR. The movies are well-written/made and the actors are winners. It becomes a question of sustainability. Everything is temporary, and Marvel is no exception.

In the context of my original statement, I mean in the gaming world, and in comparison to "standard" fantasy. Not that superheroes are not popular and not that the game/superhero market is saturated. It's just a more predictable bang for buck to make a game with elves and orcs and dwarves (or SF, that's even better). Outside of games, don't let the MCU fool you. It's propping up the entire movie/tv-superhero tent.

Almost all of the "superhero mania" in mainstream culture is really just driven by the MCU stuff. If that falters, expect superheroes to largely disappear. It's not like superheroes movies didn't exist until Iron Man. They did, quite a bit, and remained niche. What's not niche is MCU, but don't expect it to bleed over to superheroes as a genre.

One of my biggest fears for the future of the MCU is that Disney kicks Feige upstairs. Iger is stepping down in 2022 (I think?).

With Endgame, a lot of the long-running actors' contracts are up. No small part of the MCU's runaway success has been the strength of that talent. Now, the next phase that leverages its new Fox assets -- X-Men in particular -- might be done well enough to catch lightning in that bottle a second time. It might not.

I guess we'll see now that we're arguably at or past "peak MCU." Let's check back in five years.

I thought about something like that. "Sub-Orbital Flight" or something. I didn't want to steal Long Range Teleport's thunder.

As compared to sword & sorcery fantasy, yes.

Not that alone. As WW found out with the Underworld movies, it's really hard to stake a claim on "vampires" and "werewolves" (or even "vampires and werewolves as traditional enemies"). To capitalize on that, you really have to customize them into something that can be viewed by the legal system as an actual IP. But then that diminishes the universal nature of their appeal. It's a fine line. It might be why WW stopped trying make WoD-based movies and shows.

It's largely moot, as I doubt the HC devs are going to put much time into it, but this is what I'd like to see. Raise the Fly speed cap for everyone. Or just remove it and rely on ED (same could be done for Super Speed). Allow Flight Speed enhancements to increase Fly speed. At higher levels, I believe this should get fly up to roughly SS speed. Replace Afterburner with something thematic that provides some new play feature. Maybe some kind of knockback/down-based "bowl them over" attack similar to how Cannonball works (from New Mutants or X-Force). Could even still call it Afterburner. But ideas abound for that. Replace Burnout with some form of "overwhelming rapid attack" power for the Speed pool. As I mentioned before, a kind of one-person Gang War might be a place to start. And even here, we could still call it Burnout.

Also, like it or not, superheroes will always be niche compared to sword & sorcery fantasy. In the end, Tolkien wins that fight. Properly marketed, horror would beat both of them. If White Wolf could figure out how to make a competent "World of Darkness Online" it'd be a game changer (no pun intended).

If they do this I claim ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I liked CO's teleport as a kind of "astral jump" power, but it never felt very teleporty to me. I prefer CoH's form of teleportation.

I agree with that. I understand the complaints that pre-Afterburner, Fly just felt slow. 8)

Walking through small things like computer consoles, or I guess maybe cargo containers and whatnot inside a door mission, might not be a problem. But is that really what we think of for Super Speed? That's more of a general stealth-like thing. I dunno...

Oh, right, I forgot it was already at cap. See, this just reinforces my position that Afterburner was a mistake. They should have just raised the cap and let you slot +Fly. I don't see the harm there.

This confuses me. Are you saying adding Flight Speed enhancements to Fly doesn't make you fly faster? The problem here is in defining what it is you can phase through exactly. MOBs? Might be useful in some cases. Buildings? The engine certainly isn't set up for that as there's nothing "inside" the buildings in the city. Even phasing through walls within a door mission would be problematic. It's a valid concept, I'm just thinking about it game-engine-wise. In the end, it's the same problem with wall running. One thing I thought might be fun is if you could go into a "move so fast you seem to be in multiple places" attack. Kind of like a one-person Gang War. Like, suddenly a bunch of you appear and dog pile your target in a chaotic mass of attacks, then run off. Might be weird with ranged ATs but it could be made to work. Not quite this (jump to 1:40) but along the same idea.

Generally, Teleport is faster than Fly without Afterburner. It's also riskier (typically more end-hungry, plus, you know, falling) and more complex to use. I wouldn't disagree that in the hands of someone experienced with it, SJ gives Fly a run for its money. It might be a bit faster, but again, it's riskier and more complex to use. Not as risky or complex as Teleport, but harder than almost literally doing nothing.

And what about fly without afterburner? Fly by itself shouldn't even come close to Super Speed.

How about we give it a toggle power that raises the speed cap? I know, probably too much work to implement...

Fly + Afterburner? That will beat SS 9 times out of 10 in any realistic scenario (where you have to deal with verticals). No one's saying Fly + Afterburner is literally faster than SS. I mean we can see the actual numbers in the game. SS is marginally faster. In actual gameplay, with actual zones and not laboratory conditions, Fly + Afterburner not only beats SS most of the time, but beats it by significant margins. SS only starts to catch up when you combine it with SJ. Which is frustrating for the travel power based on "speed." Maybe they should just rename it Brisk Jogging... Not that we need to boost SS, but why can't Afterburner make that move faster too?

In the comics, superspeed "ultimate" powers often involved some level of reality-bending that just won't work in a multiplayer game. Things like bullet time, or time travel, or phasing through solid objects. I mean imagine trying pull off the Quicksilver "Time in a Bottle" sequence in CoH. Speed should, of course, carry an inherent defense bonus and an inherent slow resist, but that doesn't feel very "ultimate." I guess a rapid attack could work mechanically but we already have Flurry and Whirlwind. If the game engine supported it, running up walls and buildings might have just been fun and useful enough to be an answer to Afterburner. (Also, on a side note, when running with Super Speed on water, we should actually run, not Super Swim. But that's neither here nor there.) Regardless, about the OP, I say thee nay. Fly speed is fine as is.

I think Afterburner takes away something that made Super Speed feel thematic and fun. The concept behind Burnout isn't too bad. Maybe instead of a one-off switch, you got a passive that works like Brute Fury, but instead of doing more damage as you fight, you gain recharge (and the +recharge buff wears off quickly once you stop fighting). It could become fairly powerful but watch that endurance! Or maybe you cause a kind of -recharge debuff on enemies, which represents your increase in speed over them. Less exciting but also less risky, I suppose. Or maybe something that works in conjunction with Hasten, since most Speed pool users are going to have it. Honestly I think Hasten needs an overhaul anyway. There are endless ideas. I just think they picked a poor one.