Streetsweeping and Hazard Zones Overhaul

[Lines]

I've seen a few conversations turn to either the lack of population throughout the zones or the lack of reward for using them, and we often talk about looking at Streetsweeping for solutions. I wanted to consolidate some ideas in one place and have one topic for talking more specifically about this.

 

Streetsweeping (going around the streets beating up mobs) is a very high-risk, low-reward activity as it stands. You get unpredictable enemies, level ranges that could go from blue one mob to purple the next, debt for death is higher, travel to find level-appropriate zones is higher, and by and large it rewards nothing you wouldn't find better elsewhere. There's an opportunity to make Streetsweeping a valid way to get 1-50, fill some of those blank levels, or farm for their own rewards.

 

A few ideas have included

- Unlevelled mobs in hazard zones.

- A new merit of similar conversion value to vanguard merits, with their own rewards as well.

- Taking control of zones and neighbourhoods in some fashion.

- Co-op hazard zones.

- Zone events that are initiated by streetsweeping. (Redside GMs already do this)

- PvPlite, where players don't engage players but focuses on winning against street groups instead.

 

I'd certainly like to see Hazard Zones become Hazardous and Rewarding enough to be interesting to spend time in. I think some of the ideas above could displace a little bit of farming into Hazard Zones, which I don't see as a bad thing. With leagues, more people can join in and with unlevelled mobs more people can contribute for efficient earning. Unlike AE, of course, there's no control over damage type so there's still some degree of limitation preventing a decked-out farming toon for a single purpose.

 

One stretch thought that comes up now and again is for hazard zones to each have their own zone event, with similar complexity and reward value of an MSR raid. What could each zone have for a event?

Looking at the more emptier, 'blank canvas' neighbourhoods and zones:

- Grendel's Gulch in The Hollows

- Boomtown (Something about reclaiming neighbourhoods, or war between the Council and the 5th Column?)

- Crey's Folly (Freakshow Thunderdome?)

- Eden

 

 

Note, This is purely just for the sake of thought exercise in designing CoH gameplay, I'm not demanding any new features here. Just blue sky talk about what could be.

Edited October 25, 2019 by Lines

[EmmySky]

If I have a chunk of time I will put my baby toons in 4 runs of DFB to get them going but mostly time is short so I get them to about 14 just street sweeping Atlas, Hollows, Perez, KR and Steel.

 

There are huge gaps as the levels require more and more XP where street sweeping is just not a viable alternative, where the bar never seems to move.  I think its a wonderful idea to help fill those gaps.

 

I think changing the mechanics of how street sweeping earns less XP or other spaghetti code entanglements may be a bit much to ask.  Simpler things that don't require rewriting anything might be better. 

 

Like zone events.  We have Halloween so we know events work.  If someone could code up a zone event for what you were talking about, then its not messing with existing code, just a trigger to embed to activate it.  That shouldnt be as difficult.

 

Also plunking new spawn points into zones with different enemy groups or different levels of the same enemy group should be an easier ask than rewriting certain things.

 

I like the ideas and if we can keep an eye on coding difficulties while we brainstorm, someone might get a decent proposal out of it! 

 

(I like your idea of blue sky brainstorming but I know from experience it will quickly be denounced by naysayers so I am always trying to think if an idea I have would mess with spaghetti code or not.)

 

Happy hunting!

[Shazbotacus]

I would like to see street sweeping be more rewarding. I remember on live missions became more and more favored with higher XP rewards and reduced debt incurred from defeat. Some more incentive to see other players in the open world rather than just sitting at Atlas, at a trainer, or in transit between missions would be nice, and I do recall seeing at least one thread from live having this sort of complaint as well.

Edited October 25, 2019 by Shazbotacus

[FDR's Think Tank]

Dare I say it here? I don't want to be predictable, but this desire for more Patrol viability/enjoyment really aligns well a discussion being had about Villain Free-Agency. While it seems a round about way to address this concern, I should point out, for an MMO, Player-driven and organic methods are the best medicine!

 

So what am I talking about? Crimewaves! On Redside, Villains would get special Newspaper Missions that allow them to build up reputation with sub-factions of various in game gangs. By doing so, they are able to forge their own destiny and legacy... while doing the groundwork to empower their own crew to do a spree in Paragon City. On their own, Villains would earn points to gain rewards temporary pet/power rewards that reflect who they have been helping/working with... when enough Villains assist a specific gang or gang faction, they would trigger a crimewave in Paragon! This would let the heroes combat the Villain efforts and gain access to their own blueside temporary power/pet rewards... while vastly improving the flavor and reasons for going on Patrol.

[Shazbotacus]

1 hour ago, FDR's Think Tank said:

Dare I say it here? I don't want to be predictable, but this desire for more Patrol viability/enjoyment really aligns well a discussion being had about Villain Free-Agency. While it seems a round about way to address this concern, I should point out, for an MMO, Player-driven and organic methods are the best medicine!

 

So what am I talking about? Crimewaves! On Redside, Villains would get special Newspaper Missions that allow them to build up reputation with sub-factions of various in game gangs. By doing so, they are able to forge their own destiny and legacy... while doing the groundwork to empower their own crew to do a spree in Paragon City. On their own, Villains would earn points to gain rewards temporary pet/power rewards that reflect who they have been helping/working with... when enough Villains assist a specific gang or gang faction, they would trigger a crimewave in Paragon! This would let the heroes combat the Villain efforts and gain access to their own blueside temporary power/pet rewards... while vastly improving the flavor and reasons for going on Patrol.

Yes. I like this.
So, the villains basically doing attacks on Paragon City by proxy. Interesting. Villain players do instanced missions from the newspaper contact to progress towards an open world event for hero players. Maybe level 50 players should get to do really sadistic things like sic Malta on the heroes. 😈

 

This could be a good reason for some players to go villain side maybe? I can see it now:

[Help] Sgt. Sniper: Yo, could we get some villain players to get us some of them sweet Malta summons?

Edited October 25, 2019 by Shazbotacus

[Lines]

Read all about it!
 

It definitely carries across into this discussion, especially if the invasions were kept to Hazard Zones (partly so they don't troll with places like Atlas and PI where folks might be minding their own business, and that it'd add a hazard to hazard zones.)

 

5 hours ago, EmmySky said:

If I have a chunk of time I will put my baby toons in 4 runs of DFB to get them going but mostly time is short so I get them to about 14 just street sweeping Atlas, Hollows, Perez, KR and Steel.

 

There are huge gaps as the levels require more and more XP where street sweeping is just not a viable alternative, where the bar never seems to move.  I think its a wonderful idea to help fill those gaps.

I managed to get a few levels out of Crey's folly recently and enjoyed exploring the place. You don't get the same kind of verticality and environmental variety in missions. It was a shame I could only do that for five levels or so before I outlevelled the place. Powerlevelling, it was not, but it was fun.

 

[FDR's Think Tank]

Atlas Park isn't a safezone! You could make Crimewave mobs the levelless sort, so white is white, yellow is yellow, etc. Debt Protection could be activated in limited aggression places like Atlas Park, Steel Canyon, and P.I., but it would be nice if underside areas like King's Row, Skyway City, and Hazard Zones got a little more crazy.

 

Crimewaves could even have increased law enforcement too. One of the biggest features of Galaxy City was the fact you could follow Longbow around as a Solo character and snipe the capture for mobs they engaged. It was a great experience. Given, you occasionally see cops out in King's Row, especially around the station... There is room for more. If there was a way to make it so police raids don't advance unless player characters show up to assist them, the cops wouldn't clean up all the crime too quickly without Heroes

 

[Lines]

8 minutes ago, FDR's Think Tank said:

Crimewaves could even have increased law enforcement too. One of the biggest features of Galaxy City was the fact you could follow Longbow around as a Solo character and snipe the capture for mobs they engaged. It was a great experience. Given, you occasionally see cops out in King's Row, especially around the station... There is room for more. If there was a way to make it so police raids don't advance unless player characters show up to assist them, the cops wouldn't clean up all the crime too quickly without Heroes

 

Even outside of the crimewave event idea, having cops regularly sweeping the streets themselves, moving from area to area and needing player assistance to progress their patrol would be great!