Architect Entertainment - Content Ideas

[Arcanum]

Hi everyone!

 

Over the past week or so, many of you have reached out with ideas to help improve the Architect Entertainment system! You've all had some really great ideas, that I personally would love to see implemented some day.

 

I thought I'd create a space for you to all share these ideas so the devs have a place to review all the content recommendations and suggestions you may have!

 

Possible Topics:

• NPCs you'd like available
• Map Location/Ideas
• Enemy Groups you'd like access to
• Custom Content Ideas
• UI Enhancement Ideas

 

I'm sure you guys will think of many more!

 

*Let me be clear, I do not guarantee anything discussed below being added into AE. Having a place for the devs to review it help streamline the possibility when they're able to review the AE content* 

 

Additionally, please keep conversations friendly! Its okay to disagree or recommend a compromise based on someone's idea, however, keep the conversation productive!

 

Okay, let's hear those thoughts!

[GM Miss]

Ill start off with what was mentioned in the weekly discussion! 

 

Weekly Discussion 13: AE Ideas

8/25/19-8/31/19

•    Making all current powersets available to bad boys
•    Player made Safeguard/Mayhem missions
•    Incarnate level missions
•    More abstract missions (Like Summer Blockbuster)
•    New Enemy poses
•    AE Wishlist from VonBoom: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1lH3-wrEcUcNAAa1_tR4vx782lvEiGZ-02qAVywtzJRo/edit
•    WS/PB options
•    Power Color customization for mobs
•    Make your own maps
•    Tutorial mission arc
•    Make female/male options open to all characters.
•    Working on customized dialogue
•    Giant Monsters
•    More customizable difficulty
•    Being able to change the in-mission music
•    Minigames like ski-slopes
•    More recent maps
•    Mission map has native allies that turn at some point – like Prae maps
•    Mission entrances outside of the AE?

You can find the forum post here: 

 

[Darkneblade]

Cutscene maker on scene?

Like you are creating AE mission if you want to make cutscene you have to go inside mission while in camera mode similar to arena cameras. Npcs will be frozen on animation until you say otherwise. With ability to customize HP of enemies so that other enemy can kill them in one hit, on cutscene maker similar to skullz scene. All enemies will be normal behaviour after cutscene ends. I know that it is still huge content probably never gonna happen because of sphagetti code. Still it could be fun.

[The Paladin]

I would love to see the options we have with Oroborus missions, such as limited lives, debuffs, disable temp powers/enhancements/etc.

[PresidentDSG]

Better options for allies- Invincible allies that still fight (as much as I acknowledge this will be a boon to farmers, probably) for those times when you want a critical story NPC to actually fight but would rather they not die without also making them very overpowered would be a huge boon. The option to  have an ally simply attach to you the moment you enter the mission would also be a good one, rather than having to try to work around that as you currently have to do.

 

Working on character dialogue- The way dialogue pops up in missions now is oddly dissonant with how it works in the rest of the game. Characters will shout their barks long before players see them, meaning that if you don't have a tab specifically for NPC dialogue- And being in an SG that runs a lot of AE content, I promise you that many people do not- they will never see it. Some characters will shout their dialogue upon being spawned into the map, nevermind if you're anywhere even remotely close. Bosses that spawn after being triggered by another objective will, similarly, say all of their dialogue only after they've been aggroed. Making all this consistent with how it works in the rest of the game (generally, waiting until a player is actually in visual range to say anything) would be fantastic

Better battles- As the above, making it so that battles wait to start until players are in range to see it. They're almost not worth putting in for their intended function as it stands- You'll almost always find a small group of injured enemies when you get to that detail, rather than a raging battle between two enemy groups.

 

More enemies- As has been implied, there's many characters and enemy groups that are simply not options to add in. I'm thinking things like the higher leveled Sky Raiders and Redcaps, and probably a few actually unique groups I can't think of off the top of my head but will probably fuss they're not in the AE in a few weeks. Individual characters, too. I've recently had to build my own adult Penelope Yin, for example, because while Penny is in the game it is only the young version in the LGTF.

 

That's all for now, I'll chew on it more. Tried to keep it in the mindset of semi-realistic

[AerialAssault]

So, you know how the enemies in the new zone events do not have a level? That minions always con white, lieutenants yellow etc.?

 

That would be awesome to have in AE, it means that lower level mobs could be fought at higher levels while still awarding some XP and not being completely trivial.

 

I don't know how notoriety would play into this system though, but hey, it is just an idea.

[Alchemystic]

I have a few ideas I'd like to see implemented, but I know some of them wont be easy.

• Include the option to create custom underlings and giant monsters
• The ability to put TF/SF modifiers onto AE arcs.
• Extend the level range of all mobs and enemy types to 1-54
• Inclusion of traps, turrets and hazards.
• Mastermind pets as normal mob NPCs
• Different glowie effects (explode, ignite, electrify, so on)
• Inclusion of destructible props (like from mayhem missions)

[johua]

Leagues in missions would be cool, especially if mob density could scale to match the league.

[Subber]

• Mastermind pets as Enemy groups. If Positron can have all Robotics pets as mobs for a mission, why can't we?
• Extension of existing enemy group levels. As it stands, you can't use Shivans and Neo-Shivans for 50 level content, for example.
• Ability to put dialogue for NPCs, the kind where you get to choose responses and whatnot.

[gchpaco]

One map location we've wanted that isn't in AE is the Crossroads of Destiny, that Oranbega in the Sky map in Scirocco's second arc.

[Defeat All Snakes]

Ally/rescue dialogue barks that don't all fire off at once. That's pretty much all I'm asking for, please and thank you.

 

Dialogue trees a great idea, as was suggested above.  Some finer control over spawn points would be great, but I'm not expecting miracles, here. Right now, on most maps, we basically just make strong suggestions to the engine about where we'd like the end bosses to be, and hope it humors us.

 

To follow Darkneblade's suggestion above: actual scripted cutscenes sounds way too complex for something like AE, but I could see maybe some selectable prefab cutscene options being added, eg: villain monologues, villain monologues in defeat, two characters have conversation, scrolling star wars text, that sort of thing.  Something to consider, I know none of this is easy y a long shot.

[Joshex]

13 hours ago, GM Miss said:

Ill start off with what was mentioned in the weekly discussion! 

 

Weekly Discussion 13: AE Ideas

8/25/19-8/31/19

•    Making all current powersets available to bad boys
•    Player made Safeguard/Mayhem missions
•    Incarnate level missions
•    More abstract missions (Like Summer Blockbuster)
•    New Enemy poses
•    AE Wishlist from VonBoom: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1lH3-wrEcUcNAAa1_tR4vx782lvEiGZ-02qAVywtzJRo/edit
•    WS/PB options
•    Power Color customization for mobs
•    Make your own maps
•    Tutorial mission arc
•    Make female/male options open to all characters.
•    Working on customized dialogue
•    Giant Monsters
•    More customizable difficulty
•    Being able to change the in-mission music
•    Minigames like ski-slopes
•    More recent maps
•    Mission map has native allies that turn at some point – like Prae maps
•    Mission entrances outside of the AE?

You can find the forum post here: 

 

I am very happy that this is being looked into.

 

Mission entrances and contacts outside AE have been discussed.

The idea is for player character specific stories or other stories which are player generated which were supposed to take place in the real world or paragon city.

 

It would require a few new menus in the AE mission editor:

for mission doors:

Zone [dropdown menu], options: Random, list of zones

Mission door [ dropdown menu +zonemap(N/A if Random in the previous)], Options: Random (random door), list of doors

• (by selecting a door the map will show where in the zone it is).

 

Exceptions to the rule: some mission doors spawn a specific map /every time/ and cannot spawn other maps. an AE mission editor error will have to be spawned if the map selected is different from the Door's map "This door can only load Map_Name, not Custom". as always mission editor errors need to be resolved before publishing.

 

 

For contacts:

The idea is that the contact is only visible/tangible to players on the AE team. a location could be picked from the mission editor using the zone map. the catch is another existing contact or NPC cannot already be there. would be funny to see where people place contacts.

 

would require a drop down menu for Zone.

 

Instead of picking just any place, it would also be applicable if the HC dev team gave selected locations in each zone where AE contacts could be. then give a drop down menu that pops up after "Zone" to select from the given locations. the default location would be in the AE in zone if available.

 

 

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Another idea that's been itching and burning at my heart. allow AE missions to trigger custom events. (invasions, zone map ambushes, etc.) even "custom enemy".

 

also give players access to spawn locations on the map to spawn some of their mission enemies at that location (at Mission level).

 

this may be dangerous for some players. so it may be an idea that needs refining.

 

still would be nice to see my cows pop up in croatoa on the farm.

 

--------------------------------------------

 

if I had the ability, I would like to create a Croatoa 2 zone. you know; the other side of the paranormal intrusion. the other world that the croatoan monsters are coming from, "the world of the Fae"

Edited April 10, 2020 by Joshex
formatting

[summers]

The caption text which pops up on your screen would be nice, dialog trees would be amazing and has already been mentioned above, and some kind of zone/location triggers so that as you enter an area of the map it can trigger further actions - text, ambushes, etc.

[nihilii]

59 minutes ago, Defeat All Snakes said:

Ally/rescue dialogue barks that don't all fire off at once. That's pretty much all I'm asking for, please and thank you.

 

Dialogue trees a great idea, as was suggested above.  Some finer control over spawn points would be great, but I'm not expecting miracles, here. Right now, on most maps, we basically just make strong suggestions to the engine about where we'd like the end bosses to be, and hope it humors us.

 

To follow Darkneblade's suggestion above: actual scripted cutscenes sounds way too complex for something like AE, but I could see maybe some selectable prefab cutscene options being added, eg: villain monologues, villain monologues in defeat, two characters have conversation, scrolling star wars text, that sort of thing.  Something to consider, I know none of this is easy y a long shot.

All gold suggestions.

Tying to the spawn points, I'd really really love the ability to craft arbitrary encounters. Think like the final 7 in the LRSF, the patrons in the STF, even just being able to stick 2 specific AVs together.

It would be OK if this came with an XP penalty or even nullification, to avoid reward exploits.

[Joshex]

another Idea that's been floating in my head; detective style stories, murder mysteries. missions where everyone is a friendly, they can all be talked to with their own talk window (with multiple choice), objects to investigate (have to read the clues after clicking glowies) and finally a talk window with the main investigator NPC where they have multiple questions you need to answer to complete the mission "who did it?" drop down menu or type?, "were there accomplices" y/n,"who were the accomplices" (only if "yes" on previous), "what was used to do it?" type?, "how?" (multiple choice after giving all the rest of the correct answers), "what time?"  and "Why?" (multiple choice after answering everything else).

 

could have time limits, could have spawned events at given times within the time limit, such as attempted thefts, evidence planting/tampering, new evidence popping up, new witnesses entering the mission. and small fights with one group once you confirm with the detective who done it. ability to fail if you can't find the right answer and make the arrest with-in the time limit.

 

for future reference, it would be nice to make it a multi mission mystery, where you are only required to find out certain facts (or just give an answer, any answer) in each mission to finish it, but have to give a complete and correct answer at the end of the last mission. This way it could send you to investigate multiple places.

 

could even have your answer to one mission dictate the next place you investigate! (multiple mission selection)

 

but this is probably very complicated to achieve. besides that, what would be the rewards? could there be randomization? (so players couldn't just redo it knowing the right answer every time), either way if there is randomization there would have to be clear rules where the mission would know the correct answer and the player would be able to figure it out.

[Arcanum]

These are all excellent suggestions so far, everyone!

 

I would definitely like to see one or two of these take place myself.

 

Keep the ideas rolling! 😄

 

[Pzn]

It might be impossible, but I'd love to see some combination of base building an AE.  Maybe someway to use custom bases as mission maps.

 

[Joshex]

1 hour ago, josh1622 said:

It might be impossible, but I'd love to see some combination of base building an AE.  Maybe someway to use custom bases as mission maps.

 

Yeah a drag and drop map designer has been an idea floating around and voiced by many for years. why stop at mission maps? I'd kinda like to see each player be able to have a private zone they can develop content for and invite other people to it (or make it public) could be achieved through the AE system. sorta like, the AE mission is a zone that multiple teams can enter together (so there can be league content in AE), meanwhile the enemies in zone could be custom. And there can be contacts which send you to missions in that AE zone.

[Greycat]

18 hours ago, AerialAssault said:

So, you know how the enemies in the new zone events do not have a level? That minions always con white, lieutenants yellow etc.?

 

That would be awesome to have in AE, it means that lower level mobs could be fought at higher levels while still awarding some XP and not being completely trivial.

 

I don't know how notoriety would play into this system though, but hey, it is just an idea.

Custom mobs can do that. Standard mobs, depends what's available - they'd have to remake the mobs in general (or someone would have to step in and do so.) WOuldn't mind seeing it myself.

 

One thing I've wished for in the past is a player-chosen starting point. RIght now you can't pick "THe player/team starts in a cell" if you want them to break out, for instance.

 

I don't *remember* seeing an option for "Boss teleports/med-ports away at X health" (for enemies or allies, counts as a defeat if you're "defeating" the boss.)

[AerialAssault]

2 minutes ago, Greycat said:

Custom mobs can do that. Standard mobs, depends what's available - they'd have to remake the mobs in general (or someone would have to step in and do so.) WOuldn't mind seeing it myself.

 

One thing I've wished for in the past is a player-chosen starting point. RIght now you can't pick "THe player/team starts in a cell" if you want them to break out, for instance.

 

I don't *remember* seeing an option for "Boss teleports/med-ports away at X health" (for enemies or allies, counts as a defeat if you're "defeating" the boss.)

Yeah that's the thing I'm talking about. I suspect that those event mobs are a separate entity, and not something that could just be toggled on or off, but i'm willing to be surprised.

 

Other suggestion: increased character limit for Clues from 300 to 500.

[Ankylosaur]

Many great ideas above. Here’s a few more

• I particularly find myself wanting the praetorian “bosses surrender” type option when they get to 25% they become invincible and tell you something.
• similarly, bosses “betray,” and become allies
• Forking mission paths to giving meaning to failing a mission
• destroyed object spawns something (destroy and egg or stasis tube or cocoon, etc and selected mob appears)
• destroyable items as collection items 
  Using AE to generate player submitted radio missions for Khalisti Wharf

[Greycat]

While I know we don't have missions, maps and zones in game for them, alternate terrain would be nice. Retexture hills to sand dunes. Give us some jungle. Let us runda tundra. Something swampy (though one or two outdoor maps kind of work for that.)  More "neighborhoods" (like the one Praetorian one.)

[Oubliette_Red]

I'd love to see the floating Mu City map put back into AE as an option.

[Bilious Slick]

A bit over a month ago, I made a thread regarding stuff I'd like to see in the AE system. It's pretty long, so I felt it would be better to simply share a link to the thread rather than copying and pasting its contents.

[Sakura Tenshi]

I'm just gonna repost the content I made for another thread:

1.Broad 'Themed' Powersets

Have you ever wanted an AV to provide a challenge just not possible within the scope of TWO measly power picks? Is it too hard to code a third power selection? Well with this choice we can have our enemies and they can kick our asses too! The idea behind this would be to make some new powersets with every power that could be thematically appropriate all lumped into one mega powerset. So a 'Ice themed' Powerset will include a list which comprises of Icy Blast, Icy Assault, Ice Melee (including stalker version), Ice Armor, Cold Domination, Ice Control, and even Storm Summoning (there could be plenty of overlap in these sets allowed), and miscellaneous things only covered in ice-themed epic pools, ice manipulation, icy assault, and possibly even a special version of Spines locked into 'crystalline' customization that deals cold damage. Not all powers would have 'broader themes' that could be tapped into, but you could still, in theory, merge Assault Rifle, Arachnos Soldier, and Mercenaries sets and throw in Aim for good measure. At the end of the day this could promote much stronger or just more interesting enemies in AE. For some examples of of these broad powersets and what would compose them...

• Ice Themed (As mentioned above could include Ice Blast, Ice Melee (including stalker version), Ice Assault*, ice armor, ice control cold domination, and storm summoning from just existing things)
• Fiery Themed (Fire Blast, Fiery Melee, Fiery Aura, Thermal Radiation, Fire Control)
• Psionic/Timelord Themed (Psychic Blast, Psionic Assault, Mind Control, Psychic Melee, Empathy, Leadership pool, Willpower, Super Reflexes, Temporal Manipulation, Time Manipulation)
• Martial Arts Themed (Martial Arts, Street Justice, Martial Assault, Kinetic Melee, Energy blast, Super Strength, Fighting Pool, Super Reflexes, Willpower)

 

2. Mastermind Minions as their own AE Mobs

Basically let us flood a damn map with robotics drones or mercs, or generic ninjas. Please? (Relatedly: include the Rogue PPD as a selectable mob)

 

3. Allow us to add Cutscene Captions.

I imagine for this you'd just need to add some special optional dialogue boxes and tag them to specific event triggers like finding a certain clue, entering the mission, finishing the mission, X-boss at Y health Percent, and so on.

 

4. Outdoor maps with express 'start', 'middle', and 'end' spawn points.

I know it's theoretically possible, and I'm not asking for exact control over spawn locations (which would be very nice but I get why that could be a pain)

 

5. Relatedly: new Warwall/Tramless/Lore-free maps

Probably the hardest one to pull off, but I'm talking about things like taking the ruined city maps and removing aspects of them being in Paragon like the warwalls and tram tracks, or making removing the golden glow from some of the Croatoa outdoor maps and replacing the entrance with a more generic entry instead of the faerie ring, and lastly just removing warwalls from many outdoor maps in general so they can feel like they're set in places that aren't paragon.

 

6. 'Generic' EBs/AVs for each faction

Another hard one to pull off, but basically going through existing mobs to take some of the existing bosses, maybe giving them a few new powers and upping them to 'elite boss' or 'av' status for a bit of extra challenge without needing to go through and try to make a custom character that often doesn't look a thing like many of the canon gang members.