Alignment, SG's, VG's: a RP perspective [DISCUSSION]

[Archaeon]

We all know CoX is unique among MMO's in the creative tools it provides players.

This is true for both non-RP'ers and RP'ers alike, and, in one way or another, we all try to do our best with what we have, circumventing whatever limitations our game has, in order to achieve our visions.

 

That said, and even though there are multiple ways to overcome this, i believe removing the alignment restrictions for joining a SG, VG, or anything inbetween, would be a most welcome addition, if game code allowed for it.

Having Hero themed characters join a VG, Rogue themed characters join a SG, are just some of the possibilities this change would allow for, all without necessarily breaking the game's inner mechanics and, essentially, taking the concept for Going Rogue one step further.

Needless to say, it would be an amazing tool for RP purposes, both to enrich immersion and also reduce the need to establish twin bases or branches of a SG/VG on both blue and red sides to compensate for the fact that, as it stands, bases aren't co-op zones yet.

 

Some suggestions would be:

- A "free for all" mode where any player, regardless of their alignment, could fully join a SG, VG, etc, according to their own vision. If necessary, keep the Epic Powers system intact, as a decisive factor for choosing an alignment later on, albeit at the expense of membership.

- Change base restrictions and turn base areas into co-op zones (like Pocket D), so that everyone in a given group could gather and interact. This change doesn't need to (and shouldn't) extend to all in-game areas, just bases.

- As an added feature, allow players to join more than 1 SG or VG with the same character, as coalitioning doesn't always work well for thematic purposes.

 

I understand this topic belongs in the "Suggestions" area, and that it is aimed specifically at the RP'ing community (therefore unlikely to be implemented), but i would like to hear everyone's opinions on this. Testing the waters, so to speak.

 

What do you think?

 

[TL;DR: Bases as co-cop areas to allow for all alignments to join and access any SG/VG]

 

 

Edited February 25, 2020 by Archaeon

[VileTerror]

uh . . . yes?

That's already the case.  Alignments now only matter for the Public Zones of Paragon City and the Etoile Isles.  All Groups are cross-alignment AND available at level 1.  There's an impressive list of Bases that are public access over at:  https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Nw-npzUY2NGc6SFoHa1ByWw202gI8DlT0ZDTQwoR7YM/edit#gid=0

 

The only thing that isn't available, and would require QUITE the overhaul is joining multiple Groups with a single character.  No idea how they could code that one in to place.

[Archaeon]

I see, thanks for the update.

Having only recently rejoined, i was under the impression alignment still kept players from accessing their SG/VG bases (but not their membership), as was the case before. Browsing through the Supergroup announcements list and seeing how some people were still creating twin versions of their SG's on both sides only reinforced the idea.

 

Case closed then... Unless the Devs do decide to look into multi-SG joining, which i also think would require extensive coding.

 

[VileTerror]

One of the popular suggestions, and one which you may want to throw your support behind in the Suggestions board, is the idea of having Regular Bases (as-is), -plus adding- PvP Bases (getting us the feature that was always intended to be released with City of Villains but was never completed), and Personal Housing (miniature Bases on a per-character basis, rather than tied to a Group).

 

Granted, the personal housing one can be solved in a roundabout manner by making an alt account, and just creating a personal housing "Group" for each character on your main account.  It would be a LOT of work, but as it stands . . . there hasn't been any work on an upper limit to Group Bases yet.  We've over 12000 on Everlasting at this point, and who knows how many on the other Shards.  Nothing -seems- to have collapsed under the weight of all those home-made maps.  Yet.

[Coyotedancer]

That's because they're only "active" when someone is in them and (as I understand it-) for a short time afterwards... And at any given time, the majority of them aren't in use, and so aren't going to be taking up any resources by... existing.

[Archaeon]

Let's hope regular funding can cover server capacity costs, then... Because the playerbase is expanding, as it should be.

 

As for personal housing, that would definitely be a welcome implement, when it comes to QoL features. It's already popular in other MMO's like ESO or BDO.

Time will tell.

[Dreamboat]

11 hours ago, VileTerror said:

Granted, the personal housing one can be solved in a roundabout manner by making an alt account, and just creating a personal housing "Group" for each character on your main account.

Give me one good reason why I've never thought of this!