issue 27 Focused Feedback: City Zone Adjustments

[The Curator]

City Zone Adjustments & Fixes

Fort Trident & The Crucible Revamps

Fort Trident - Atlas Park

• Fort Trident has been revamped to serve as a supergroup base style area for players without a supergroup.
• Fort Trident has been opened up to Vigilantes as well as Heroes. It cannot be accessed by Rogues.
• Fort Trident now has a functioning minimap and new loading screen.
• Fort Trident has been added to the Long Range Teleporter, unlocked with any badge for completing a Freedom Phalanx-affiliated Task Force or by completing Act II of the Shining Stars tutorial mission arcs.
• After years of extremely ineffective submarine access, Fort Trident has been connected to the new building. As a result, the submarine has been re-commissioned to ferry heroes to various Paragon City locations with sea access.
• Fort Trident engineers have spent some time improving the facility, upgrading their teleport systems to be more visually intuitive after mis-deployments during various operations in coordination with the Freedom Phalanx. This includes a visual display that points to where these portals will send you and can be clicked for more information.
• Teleports to Task Force contacts now use a unique white/blue portal FX rather than a generic SG portal FX.
• Teleports to Task Force contacts no longer only appear when close, and can be seen from any distance.
• Teleports to Task Force contacts now require being the minimum level of that Task Force to use.
• Teleports to Task Force contacts in Fort Trident now include a confirmation box to activate.
• A proper Supergroup base portal has been added.
• B.O.T.L.E.R. and his salvage bin are now Reward Merit vendors.
• Empowerment station added.
• Invention tables added.
• Mission computer added which tips can be purchased from.
• P2W Wyvern Interceptor added who provides P2W services.
• Empyrean Michael added who sells super inspirations for incarnate threads. He does not convert merits or sell the previous Anniversary badges, which remain exclusive to Luna in Ouroboros.
• Freedom Phalanx NPC descriptions have been fixed.

The Crucible - Cap Au Diable

• The Crucible has been revamped to serve as a supergroup base style area for players without a supergroup.
• The Crucible has been opened up to Rogues as well as Villains. It cannot be accessed by Vigilantes.
• The Crucible now has a functioning minimap and new loading screen.
• The Crucible has been added to the Long Range Teleporter, unlocked with any badge for completing an Arachnos-affiliated Strike Force or by completing Act II of the Hearts of Darkness tutorial mission arcs.
• Arachnos has had their best engineers improve the portal technology being used in The Crucible so they are at least 200% more villainous. Maybe even more! This includes a visual display that points to where these portals will send you and can be clicked for more information.
• All the Skulls found in the Crucible have been upgraded to use their revamped models.
• Teleports to Strike Force contacts now use a unique black/red portal FX rather than a generic SG portal FX.
• Teleports to Strike Force contacts now require being the minimum level of that Strike Force to use.
• Teleports to Strike Force contacts in The Crucible now include a confirmation box to activate.
• Dr. Aeon has sent Becky, the Tarantula Mistress to attempt and rope any villains passing by in The Crucible to assist him with his Strike Force. Becky is like, totally enthusiastic but is a bit confused about the specifics of her mission...
• A proper Supergroup base portal has been added.
• Trashcan and his trashcan are now Reward Merit vendors.
• Empowerment station added.
• Invention tables added.
• The Oracle added which tips can be purchased from.
• P2W Field Analyst added who provides P2W services.
• Astral Christy added who sells super inspirations for incarnate threads. She does not convert merits or sell the previous Anniversary badges, which remain exclusive to Luna in Ouroboros.
• Arachnos NPC descriptions have been fixed.

 

Zone Updates

Atlas Park

• After a fierce bidding war for the contract to the building south of Wentsworth's, Freedom Corp has managed to secure rights to the structure over Crey Industries and has begun renovating the former Architect Entertainment to serve as their new headquarters after the destruction of Galaxy City.
• Fort Trident is now accessed by the north door on this new building, this is seen via a marker on the minimap.
• The Shining Stars tutorial mission to visit the AE building has been updated to visit the nearby Vault Reserve building instead.
• Atlas Park's zone minimap has been updated to reflect these changes.

Mercy Island

• After ignoring workplace safety codes for many years, Aeon Corp's Architect Entertainment facility on Mercy Island has been completely immolated after an unexpected fire consumed the entire structure in what was described as a 'raging inferno'. WSPDR reporters have asked locals for their take on this sudden turn of events, to which many answered: "We're surprised it didn't happen sooner." Arachnos Arbiter Drones have secured the wreckage site while investigations behind the cause of the accident are investigated.
• The Hearts of Darkness tutorial mission to visit the AE building has been updated to visit the nearby Vault Reserve building instead.
• All the Skulls found in Mercy Island have been upgraded to use their revamped models.
• Mercy Island's zone minimap has been updated to reflect these changes.

Talos Island - Bamboo Kat's Luau

• The formerly instanced Luau RP area has been formally added to Talos Island near Spanky's Boardwalk. There is a tailor present there which has a mini-map icon.
• The old instanced Luau zone is no longer accessible and has been removed from Null the Gull's dialog options. Characters who were logged out there will find themselves in Pocket D after Page 4 launches.
• The new version of the Bamboo Kat's Luau found in the Talos Island zone has had some visual and functional updates, including dynamic time-based lighting FX, a police drone, some tiki performers, and a bartender vendor.
• Talos Island's zone minimap has been updated to reflect these changes.

Just in time for summer!

Port Oakes - Blackbeard's Pub

• Blackbeard's Pub has finally re-opened for business after that scuffle with them big-wig supers a few years back, and is now accessible via the front door or the hidden sewer tunnel entrance. The new area has a mini-map icon on its location.
• This new version of Blackbeard's Pub found in the Port Oakes zone has had some updates, you'll encounter some familiar faces, and Blackbeard himself is present to serve drinks as the bartender.
• The Port Oakes Arena's interior doors have been linked to the matrix blue room located in its center.

  "Me recommendation? Arrr, if ye be brave enough, the Bilgewater be quite potent..."

Echo Plaza

• We've tasked our best interdimensional gardeners with sprucing up the greenery around the plaza, and things are appearing a lot more vibrant now!
• Various ambient sounds and presences added to the zone.
• An Arachnos flier has been added to the Arachnos outer island, it doesn't connect to anywhere, but it does give Day Job credit.
• A new loading screen has been added to the zone.

The plaza sure feels more alive now!

Rikti War Zone - Vanguard Conference Room

• The door located near the Villain portal and the infirmary is now linked to the Vanguard's conference room for the use of players for RP gatherings. If lucky, you may happen upon a familiar face to have a chat with upon entering the room.

Ouroboros - Exit to Cimerora

• You can now unlock Cimerora as a travel destination in the Ouroboros exit portal by earning the 'History In The Making' Cimerora Exploration Accolade badge or by earning the 'Temporal Strife' badge by completing the Imperious Task Force.

Zone Adjustments & Fixes

Pocket D

• New BenevoLabs vendor added near the Vault Reserve that exchanges Prismatic Aether Particle salvage for permanent costume powers and also explains how / where that salvage is obtained.
• Invention tables added inside the Vault Reserve location.
• Fixed Candy Cane Vendor and Trina the Body Sculptress being sunken into the floor in Pocket D.
• Fixed a few overhead lights in the center area that were off-center.
• Fixed misaligned villain mediporter pad in Pocket D.
• Fixed improper lighting on the City of Heroes and City of Villain arcade cabinets by the AE entrance.
• Adjusted lighting on the upstairs villain-side bar and in Vault Reserve so the brightness isn't as intense when standing under the ceiling lights.
• Fixed a few texture errors that were causing overlap/flickering.

Echo Plaza

• Numerous geometry errors, spacing inconsistencies, and misplaced objects fixed throughout the zone.

Steel Canyon

• Removed geometry found out of bounds on Steel Canyon that would cause invasion GMs to spawn outside the map.

Firebase Zulu

• The soldiers in the med bay no longer use ragdoll physics and should stop falling off the medical tables.

Cap Au Diable

• Numerous geometry errors fixed around the northern hills and PTS complex.

Rikti War Zone

• The Rikti in the autopsy theatre room no longer uses ragdoll physics and should stop falling off the medical table.

Studio 55

• Fixed a wall that had no back-facing texture.
• Fixed a gap in the ceiling that could allow club guests to escape into the void.

Various

• All existing Vault Reserve store locations now include one of the new BenevoLabs vendors inside that will exchange Prismatic Aether Particle salvage for permanent costume powers and also explains how / where that salvage is obtained.

[Greycat]

So. Removed AE from the starter zones. Which only means it's going to flood into Pocket D, KR and Oakes.  Is there an actual benefit to this change?

[Vanden]

28 minutes ago, Greycat said:

So. Removed AE from the starter zones. Which only means it's going to flood into Pocket D, KR and Oakes.  Is there an actual benefit to this change?

 

Completely new players won't get so easily roped into farms, and will therefore experience more of the actual game.

[Cobalt Arachne]

31 minutes ago, Greycat said:

So. Removed AE from the starter zones. Which only means it's going to flood into Pocket D, KR and Oakes.  Is there an actual benefit to this change?

The reason was so that brand new players must learn how to move between city zones before they can be powerleveled to max level, nothing more. Everyone doing their PL'ing in those other zones is expected.

[Vanden]

2 hours ago, The Curator said:

 

You gotta wonder, why is this pile of ash still being guarded by 8 Arbiter Drones? 

[Cobalt Arachne]

Just now, Vanden said:

 

You gotta wonder, why is this pile of ash still being guarded by 8 Arbiter Drones? 

Insurance fraud investigation. 👀

[Number Six]

9 minutes ago, Cobalt Arachne said:

The reason was so that brand new players must learn how to move between city zones before they can be powerleveled to max level, nothing more. Everyone doing their PL'ing in those other zones is expected.

 

Reducing lag in starter zones is another side benefit. AE is badly implemented and horrendous with the amount it causes. It used to be worse -- we fixed a number of the really bad synchronous waits that could stall the whole zone, but it's still a bear when heavily used.

[Vanden]

Unsurprisingly, logging out on the first floor of the Mercy Island or Atlas Park AE and copying to beta results in a stuck character on Beta.

[Kal5]

8 minutes ago, Vanden said:

Unsurprisingly, logging out on the first floor of the Mercy Island or Atlas Park AE and copying to beta results in a stuck character on Beta.

 

Luckily this should not be an issue when it goes live. Characters have been properly teleported out of the area if they were logged out there right before the patch is applied.
Copy from live to beta is a special case.

[Starforge]

6 hours ago, Greycat said:

So. Removed AE from the starter zones. Which only means it's going to flood into Pocket D, KR and Oakes.  Is there an actual benefit to this change?

Yes, new Freedom Corp building in AP. Also, new players will see there's more to the game than running to the first AE that they can find.

Edited July 13, 2022 by Starforge

[Nemu]

6 hours ago, The Curator said:

WSPDR reporters have asked locals for their take on this sudden turn of events, to which many answered: "We're surprised it didn't happen sooner."

Well played!

 

Very diplomatic that this applied to the Mercy AE, since no one plays villain side 😆@Troo has to resort to paying people with panda peepshows to get people to create new alts redside. Troo story.

[Troo]

12 minutes ago, Nemu said:

@Troo has to resort to paying people with panda peepshows to get people to create new alts redside. Troo story.

 

wait

no, no.. that's NOT troo.

 

interlopers offering to show their 'panda bits' on some servers.. it happens.

 

[skoryy]

Love the new Fort Trident and that pretty much everyone's inside.  The NPC interactions are pretty fun too.  XD

 

Only issue: The lone entrance that works is on the north side.  The west side with the big FREEDOM CORPS sign doesn't work, that'll cause a bit of confusion.

[Starforge]

1 hour ago, skoryy said:

Love the new Fort Trident and that pretty much everyone's inside.  The NPC interactions are pretty fun too.  XD

 

Only issue: The lone entrance that works is on the north side.  The west side with the big FREEDOM CORPS sign doesn't work, that'll cause a bit of confusion.

The Freedom Corp building interior proper is coming later, that’s why the door doesn’t currently work.

[Ironblade]

9 hours ago, The Curator said:

Fort Trident - Atlas Park

• Fort Trident has been revamped to serve as a supergroup base style area for players without a supergroup.
•  
• B.O.T.L.E.R. and his salvage bin are now Reward Merit vendors.
• Empowerment station added.
• Invention tables added.
• Mission computer added which tips can be purchased from.
• P2W Wyvern Interceptor added who provides P2W services.

 

If it's intended as a "supergroup base style area", then it should probably also have a quartermaster and a . . .  I guess 'medic' who would sell inspirations and buy your random junk like the corresponding base items (Tree of Wonders and Auto-Doc) or the nurse in the hospital.

[UltraAlt]

On 7/12/2022 at 2:19 PM, The Curator said:

Fort Trident - Atlas Park

 

Well, if it has a SG portal, shouldn't it be on the list when you blue-hand a sg portal?

I'm mean... I figure that is where most people would go to access a base and, if Fort Trident is a base for people that don't have a supergroup, ...

 

Edited July 13, 2022 by UltraAlt
Spelling "Fort Trident" correctly ...ack...

[Gadzookery]

Love bringing the Luau to Talos and the Pub. This is great for RPers as it means more locales.

[Starhammer]

I like the updates to Trident and Crucible. Certainly more useful than before, though the TF/SF teleport is a bit redundant with just porting through LFG, or even using LRT. At least there's empowerment stations. It'd be nice to add a badge to each for spending an hour inside, like Pocket D. Also, it feels like the Fort Trident sub should also take you to Peregrine's smuggler ship. Hopefully in the near future we can get an interior to the Freedom Corps main building?

The Vanguard conference room is a nice addition. RWZ still needs a P2W vendor though... Maybe over by Serpent Drummer.

I love Bamboo Kat's Luau. Hopefully somebody will put together a interior for Larry's Tiki Lounge to go with it. I hear some nearby real estate just opened up Larry could expand to.

Blackbeard's is wonderful. I'd especially love to see more done with the sewer tunnel. It'd be a wonderful spot for black market contacts, and maybe a low budget rikti monkey fight ring. It'd be a great place to put a host for a new low level SF too. It's too cool a place not to have something to draw people in. So many people will probably never see it, or worse, only go once to take a look after it goes live, then never return.

Edited July 13, 2022 by Starhammer

[ZephyrWind]

19 hours ago, The Curator said:

 

<snip>

• After years of extremely ineffective submarine access, Fort Trident has been connected to the new building. As a result, the submarine has been re-commissioned to ferry heroes to various Paragon City locations with sea access.

</snip> 

Why not PI?

 

19 hours ago, The Curator said:

 

 

[Ironblade]

10 hours ago, UltraAlt said:

Well, if it has a SG portal, shouldn't it be on the list when you blue-hand a sg portal?

I'm mean... I figure that is where most people would go to access a base and, if For Trident is a base for people that don't have a supergroup, ...

I didn't even think of this.

Since it's stated as a "supergroup base style area" for people without supergroups, then it should be accessible from any base portal - as well as the P2W SG portal power.

[skoryy]

I got to checking out Bamboo Kat's.  I'm not sure I'd have any large RP gatherings there given its size, but I do enjoy the vibe!

 

Also: Who is Bamboo Kat and when do we get to meet them?

[Cobalt Arachne]

15 hours ago, skoryy said:

Love the new Fort Trident and that pretty much everyone's inside.  The NPC interactions are pretty fun too.  XD

 

Only issue: The lone entrance that works is on the north side.  The west side with the big FREEDOM CORPS sign doesn't work, that'll cause a bit of confusion.

Next patch will have Fort Trident moved to the main door of the Freedom Corp building and The Crucible will be accessed from Mercy Island via a door nearby where villains start.

[Bionic_Flea]

Fort Trident looks good.

 

My only complaint is that multiple NPCs have the same dialogue and that gets old quick.

 

Copied from Brainstorm:

[01:25] [NPC] FreedomCorps Soldier: Sheesh! You worry to much, Mom!
[01:25] [NPC] FreedomCorps Soldier: Ummm... No, that wasn't me on the news! Why would an accountant be on the news?
[01:25] [NPC] FreedomCorps Soldier: Sheesh! You worry to much, Mom!
[01:26] [NPC] FreedomCorps Soldier: How much longer before those contractors finishing building the new place?
[01:26] [NPC] FreedomCorps Soldier: I'm sorry, but Positron really needs me to help him with a project right now.
[01:26] [NPC] FreedomCorps Soldier: Sheesh! You worry to much, Mom!
[01:26] [NPC] FreedomCorps Soldier: Sheesh! You worry to much, Mom!
[01:26] [NPC] FreedomCorps Soldier: Ummm... No, that wasn't me on the news! Why would an accountant be on the news?
[01:26] [NPC] FreedomCorps Soldier: Ummm... No, that wasn't me on the news! Why would an accountant be on the news?
[01:26] [NPC] FreedomCorps Soldier: Sheesh! You worry to much, Mom!
[01:26] [NPC] FreedomCorps Soldier: Sheesh! You worry to much, Mom!
[01:29] [NPC] FreedomCorps Soldier: Sheesh! You worry to much, Mom!

 

[arthurh35353]

Is most every (casino) employee at Blackbeard's supposed to look the same?

 

(Four of six are these guys, the other 2 are 1 other model)

 

No bodysculpter either? Huh.

 

And the ambiance of seagull without any music is kind of a turn off?

 

No rock band or ravers in the basement?

 

The "back" door is probably hinged backwards, too? It should open so the hinge is away from the street, I think.

Edited July 13, 2022 by arthurh35353
Update

[KaizenSoze]

1 minute ago, arthurh35353 said:

Is every (casino) employee at Blackbeard's supposed to look the same?

The owners are really cheap and they got discount clones from Dr. Aeon.