If you were to add a zone to Paragon City...

[Major_Decoy]

I would add a pre-impact Galaxy City back to City of Heroes. .1 seconds pre-impact. Upon zoning, you would be hit by the steel canyon building explosion code. All inspirations and powers would be turned off and your only option to revive would be going back to your base or the hospital.

[Darmian]

10 hours ago, High_Beam said:

There is enough farmland in AE 🙂

HA!  

 

 

[Darmian]

9 hours ago, Techwright said:

The 1970s would have the Atlas Statue and Park but a lot of the buildings would likely be in the Brutalist style.

 

You could easily handwave Echo Atlas as that.

[Mirage]

I'd like to see a post-apocalyptic town/city similar to Pripyat / Chernobyl in the Ukraine.

 

Pripyat Wikipedia

 

Creepy, spooky, etc

 

I know we have Boomtown, the hollows, crey's folly, etc, but none of those feel "Creepy" to me. They are too "Destroyed", this should be a "There were families and people living here, but then ol' Doc Vazh came along and wiped out the 'burbs".

 

Make it levels 15-30.

 

Throw in alot of zombies, vazhalok, banished pantheon, give it that "Walking dead" feel

 

abandoned Amusement rides, this was the suburbs of Paragon City that had amusement rides, a roller coaster, games tents, that now no one visits.

Hmmmm, maybe the carnies might be parking themselves in there?

 

 

 

[biostem]

6 minutes ago, Mirage said:

I'd like to see a post-apocalyptic town/city similar to Pripyat / Chernobyl in the Ukraine.

I feel like Terra Volta could be revamped in that way.  I think part of the problem ism, when you get right down to it, the zones in CoH are not all that immersive - early in my time playing CoH, traveling through Perez Park with no travel powers truly gave you a sense of dread.  How do you set the mood when players can simply fly over or zip through a zone with little impediment?  I'd love to see zones be more interactive, but I think that'd be a big ask...

[Mirage]

I agree with you on that.

 

Can a zone be made that you cannot use travel powers?

 

I remember (many many moons ago!) that when ICON first came out, you had to run through Steel Canyon to get there (there was no north Subway station), or run through IP. 

Although, that was kinda fun, a real gauntlet to get by all the baddies so you can edit your costume. LOL

 

And of course there was always that one mission door, all the way in the back corner of the Hallows that you would get at level 6 or 7, that was a dangerous hike to get there too. 

 

[MTeague]

I would want an underwater aquatic zone.  Maybe going deeper into Coralax lore.

 

However, this will probably never happen, because

• In CoH, it doesnt' matter if it's deep ocean or a public fountain, you can never swim down and max depth is like 2 feet.
• In most games, underwater zones are near-universally hated.
• implementing a breathing requirement couldn't really happen becasue various characters are super enough they don't NEED to breathe, or can hold their breath for 3 hours, or they're just plain robotic and breathing is for carbon-based critters.

but if i could magic-wand something into the game, this would probably be it.

[biostem]

42 minutes ago, Mirage said:

Can a zone be made that you cannot use travel powers?

I wonder if there could be other ways to immerse players - something like winding claustrophobic hallways and a very limited view distance.  I wouldn't want a repeat of the Shadow Shard, where it is very unfriendly to non-fliers, and barely used as a result.  It's tough, given the freedom of movement CoH offers, to force players into the kind of slow, methodical pace such an atmospheric zone would entail...

[Doomguide2005]

 

2 hours ago, MTeague said:

but if i could magic-wand something into the game, this would probably be it.

     Perhaps a combo of recoloring the 'atmosphere' and magic.  There's Dark Astoria's fog and the fog in the Shadow Shard TF.  Maybe this fog could be recolored plus other effects to simulate water (movement speed debuff, vision and lighting limits, gravity/buoyancy changes)  They need something similar (gravity-wise) to do Moonbase/Space content as well.

[cotesan]

It would be great if khallisti was completed first. I’d also like more exciting zone events. 
 

 

[gamingglen]

I'd like some way to run a jungle or nature based character through the levels in mostly wooded areas. Perhaps a zone (or a good part of a zone) that is linked to Perez Park (through rivers?), perhaps linked to the southern part of the Hollows, the zone has some intermediate level areas, and then linked to Eden. I realize that's a niche theme, but probably more used, at least in much older comics before the wear-underwear-on-outside comics dominated the market, than an underwater zone. Maybe the new zone could have both woods and underwater missions (different contacts and different mission trees <- hah.. trees 😄 ). 

[Zep]

I see many wonderful and likeable ideas.

 

I'd like to see something a bit different. We have many characters with backgrounds stating they are from off world, eg alien, or cross dimensional. Like Fire Base Zulu (boy its been a while since I have gone there) I'd like to see a Fey Realm, one that has the magic Croatoa hints at, perhaps a wooded realm with giant trees and tree based buildings that is in a war with The Shivans and/or the Rularuu or some other group, asking for help in return for helping Paragon City by using their magic against the Rikti.

[hexadecimalwtf]

On 11/30/2022 at 5:14 PM, Mirage said:

Can a zone be made that you cannot use travel powers?

 

It is an interesting idea but would it end up being fun or just frustrating? The travel powers in this game are fun but certainly do trivialize a lot of zones.

 

I wonder if it could be themed into a zone event. Maybe even a raid like zone where progressing through the event adds more and more limitations on the players as a way of increasing difficulty. Inhibiting travel powers, lowering damage or healing or defensive stats. Theme it around radiation or some power sapping, whatever it may be. 

[Techwright]

On 11/30/2022 at 4:52 PM, Mirage said:

I'd like to see a post-apocalyptic town/city similar to Pripyat / Chernobyl in the Ukraine.

 

Pripyat Wikipedia

 

Creepy, spooky, etc

 

 

 

Does the First Ward not count?

 

On 11/30/2022 at 5:14 PM, Mirage said:

Can a zone be made that you cannot use travel powers?

 

 

Unfortunately, nowadays it would probably be avoided.  We've become too spoiled in our comfy travel arrangements.  (I miss the taxi-bot supergroups!)

 

I might have a (slightly) alternative solution.  See farther down.

 

On 12/3/2022 at 4:33 PM, Zep said:

I see many wonderful and likeable ideas.

 

I'd like to see something a bit different. We have many characters with backgrounds stating they are from off world, eg alien, or cross dimensional. Like Fire Base Zulu (boy its been a while since I have gone there) I'd like to see a Fey Realm, one that has the magic Croatoa hints at, perhaps a wooded realm with giant trees and tree based buildings that is in a war with The Shivans and/or the Rularuu or some other group, asking for help in return for helping Paragon City by using their magic against the Rikti.

 

This sounds like something the Midnight Squad would oversee.  It could actually kick off from Croatoa as well.  A weakening of the dimensional portals due to the ongoing war in Croatoa creates a rift that allow exploration into the fantasy realm.  That would even permit the rift from not being visible/available until certain requirements are met, opening up the initial storyline.

On 12/2/2022 at 3:34 PM, gamingglen said:

I'd like some way to run a jungle or nature based character through the levels in mostly wooded areas. Perhaps a zone (or a good part of a zone) that is linked to Perez Park (through rivers?), perhaps linked to the southern part of the Hollows, the zone has some intermediate level areas, and then linked to Eden. I realize that's a niche theme, but probably more used, at least in much older comics before the wear-underwear-on-outside comics dominated the market, than an underwater zone. Maybe the new zone could have both woods and underwater missions (different contacts and different mission trees <- hah.. trees 😄 ). 

 

It sounds like you're wanting zone #7 in my OP map.  It is fairly narrow, though the mapmaker managed to suggest by using background coloring that there might be two future zones in there.  That does have interesting possibilities, especially due to its narrow width.  A Hamidon-based forest running there, up from The Hive, would probably be trying to take over the rubble on Faultline's western flank (war walls make it seem the earthquake's destruction was fully contained to the zone, but I'd argue a zone to the west of Faultline would at least show similar damage on its eastern flank.)  With Brickstown to the west, you have the potential for the Hamidon to see the Zig as a candy jar for forcible transformation and recruitment en masse, possibly leading to interesting storylines, a leagued event like the mothership raid and/or a task force to prevent it.

 

There's another way this could go: the Lost World genre concept.  Much like Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Professor Challenger story, the unknown/unexplored African interiors of the Tarzan series or later, Marvel Comics' Savage Land pocket in the Antarctic, we could have a zone portal experience to a lost world elsewhere on the planet with trees on the scale of redwoods and a hodgepodge of native cultures, lost Roman civilizations and ferocious beasts  Just...no more tree canopies one cannot move through but one can walk on.

 

3 hours ago, hexadecimalwtf said:

 

It is an interesting idea but would it end up being fun or just frustrating? The travel powers in this game are fun but certainly do trivialize a lot of zones.

 

I wonder if it could be themed into a zone event. Maybe even a raid like zone where progressing through the event adds more and more limitations on the players as a way of increasing difficulty. Inhibiting travel powers, lowering damage or healing or defensive stats. Theme it around radiation or some power sapping, whatever it may be. 

 

Perhaps there's another way to address this: not complete loss of powers but unexpected reduction of powers.  I see two avenues regarding this:  a zone (which for "reasons") interferes with travel powers either causing (A) a severe strain on using them (can only use them briefly, with long recharge times) or (B) causes instability where you can try to use them but with mixed and sometimes unpredictable results.  The zone would need to be tooled to take this into account, as in "what happens if you try teleporting, but the energies are suddenly redirected and you go back or left instead of forwards?" Unexpected conflicts and hilarity ensues.

[BlackSpectre]

I don’t think we need a new zone. Instead we need things that will bring people to the currently empty zones… fault line, Crey’s folly, rikti war zone, all of Praetoria, khalisti warf, shadow shard, etc. They need to be bustling with activity, thriving and alive…  even if the only ones in the zone are NPCs.

 

 More cars, trucks, pedestrians, construction machinery digging trenches, electricians working on power lines and cell phone towers, police helicopters flying around, jets streaking through the sky, smaller and large planes flying across the sky, trucks, cars, bicyclists, motorcyclists, gondolas sailing the canals of Venice, Italy… er, i mean Founders Falls, lines of people, shoppers inside stores, etc. just make it feel more  ALIVE!

 

how about a bunch of cars moving on the amazing highways in Skyway? Make it busy! have Rush hour throughout the zones! 
 

Playing in PRAETORIA and Khasti Wharf I get a very empty and eerie feeling. PRAETORIA looks beautiful, but the vacuum Robots being the only ones in the zone is disturbing. 
 

where are all the gas stations? 
 

and there’s more but you get the gist. 🙂

[biostem]

Just now, BlackSpectre said:

we need things that will bring people to the currently empty zones

Add some sort of "disaster response radio", similar to the police radio, but have it provide missions for characters of any level.  Have it utilize enemy groups appropriate to that zone, but leveled to the character in question.

[Go0gleplex]

Section 5- Fishing/Seaside Residential type port in the 15-25 level. Sea Zombies, Coralax, Smugglers, and Arachnos sleeper cells.  Haunted Lighthouse on point.

 

Section 8- Upper end residential (mansions & estates) in the 25-35 level range. Family (Illuminati), New Syndicate (from Praetorian infiltrators), Rogue Private Security (Mercs), Outcasts

 

Section 7- Rail yards and airport in the 30-40 level range. Clockwork, Crey, and Devouring Earth (infested Crey BCU types included at defense line). 

 

Section 4- Quarries, mines, Asphalt/concrete plants, steel mills in the 35-45 level range.  Seismic based power set villains, Lost, Rikti, 5th Column. Giant Rock Worm Kaiju

 

Section 2- Damaged Urban/tourist area (from Galaxy City meteor misses) in the 15-25 level range. Shivan, Outcasts, Family

 

Section 1- Low Level urban near Boomtown fading to small farms westward in the 20-30 level range. Circle of Thorns, Warriors, Mutated animals.

 

Section 6- Embassies and office buildings in the 15-25 level range. Foreign Security forces, Tsoo, Family, and Crey. Random Council & Arachnos group attacks on embassy(ies).  

 

Section 3- Seaside residential multi-family, Casino, and park in the 10-18 level range. Coralax, Family, Trolls. Undead filled morning fog kaiju type. 

 

(Basically a new villain group or three, upper low to low mid-level content zones outside of just Kings Row if not hunting in conflict zones...order of zone by idea occurrence). 

[starro]

Inside the Zig.  Inside brickstown. 
 

A layered maze of halls, cells, open/ closed areas where we discover the building that is supposed to house the cities worst citizens festers criminal plots.  The Crey experiments on its occupants and past is not forgotten. 

[MetalSiryn]

On 11/5/2022 at 12:30 PM, Akalabeth said:

 

#9 should be cow pens with quick respawning cows for xp grinding.  That would be popular until the devs nerf the xp on it, but... people would still do it.

 

Gonna Milk that joke, are ya?  hehehe

Edited December 8, 2022 by MetalSiryn

[Nemeroff]

On 11/5/2022 at 10:57 AM, Techwright said:

If you were to add a zone to Paragon City, where would you think would be the most interesting location, and why? What would you like to see in that spot?  Please consider how bordering areas might overlap or affect a new zone, giving a more cohesive feel to the city.

 

...

 

"PDA"= Predefined area

PDA-1 - Croatoa to the NW, Independence Point and possibly Kallisti Warf to the south, Boomtown to the east

PDA-2 - Independence Point to the west, Kallisti Warf to the north, Steel Canyon to the east, Galaxy City to the south

PDA-3 - Siren's Call to the NW, Peregrine Island to the east/NE, The Hollows to the South, Atlas Park to the SW

PDA-4 - Rikti War Zone to the west, Independence Port to the east, Crey's Folly to the south

PDA-5 - Talos Island to the west/SW, Peregrine Island to the NW, Dark Astoria to the south

PDA-6 - Skyway City to the west, The Hollows to the north, Talos Island to the east

PDA-7 - Kings Row to the NW, Skyway City to the NE, Faultline to the east/SE, The Hive to the south, Brickstown to the west

PDA-8 - Faultline to the west, Skyway City to the NW, Talos Island to the NE, Founders Falls to the east, Eden to the south

PDA-9 - Crey's Folly to the NW, Brickstown to the north/NE, The Hive to the east

 

 

 

 

 

The idea of an airport was mentioned.

I like the idea of a swamp. Not unlike "Dagobah" in The Empire Strikes Back; danger, mystery, adventure, etc... 

 

Combining ideas here, some swamps are right after the airport this is in the event that the plane malfunctions/crashes at take off or landing it won't destroy buildings, infrastructures, homes, people, ...

 

Where to put an airport and a swamp nearby?

With the above map maybe west and northwest of Croatoa.

[SaintD]

I'd add the Military Zone, dominated by a US military base where they're setting up for a major military operation to help get Paragon City more under control with a period of martial law, and start open peacekeeping operations against the Rogue Isles.

It would have a lot of safer open areas because the area is covered by....uh.....a fully mechanized military force with tanks and artillery, and instead the 'street sweeping' opportunities would be a little more hidden where Arachnos is trying to disrupt the staging area by messing with supplies and esoteric warfare. There might be some fringe areas where courageous gangers are trying to lift unattended supplies or anything else they can find. Maybe Mooks doing some back alley deals with corrupt soldiers and the like.

I'd add interactions in there people can see between the military and 'hero' organizations, where Longbow is getting rebuffed by the military for literally being a private vigilante army for example, while there's much more respected Vanguard attaches present to observe.

Stuff like that. I like the idea of presenting a view of how the 'outside world' looks at the absolute chaos of Paragon City and the Rogue Isles. PC isn't a city state that stands alone, it's a city in the United States, and they're not actually taking everything laying down. This is just a period of chaos after an ALMOST apocalypse of the Rikti War.

[gamingglen]

45 minutes ago, SaintD said:

I'd add the Military Zone, dominated by a US military base where they're setting up for a major military operation to help get Paragon City more under control with a period of martial law, and start open peacekeeping operations against the Rogue Isles.

It would have a lot of safer open areas because the area is covered by....uh.....a fully mechanized military force with tanks and artillery, and instead the 'street sweeping' opportunities would be a little more hidden where Arachnos is trying to disrupt the staging area by messing with supplies and esoteric warfare. There might be some fringe areas where courageous gangers are trying to lift unattended supplies or anything else they can find. Maybe Mooks doing some back alley deals with corrupt soldiers and the like.

I'd add interactions in there people can see between the military and 'hero' organizations, where Longbow is getting rebuffed by the military for literally being a private vigilante army for example, while there's much more respected Vanguard attaches present to observe.

Stuff like that. I like the idea of presenting a view of how the 'outside world' looks at the absolute chaos of Paragon City and the Rogue Isles. PC isn't a city state that stands alone, it's a city in the United States, and they're not actually taking everything laying down. This is just a period of chaos after an ALMOST apocalypse of the Rikti War.

 

That already exists in the Rikti War Zone.  The only thing to change would be to see the AFVs actually fighting instead of cruising around trying to pick up chicks 😄 ;  it would be so cool to see them firing their BFGs.  

[SaintD]

4 hours ago, gamingglen said:

 

That already exists in the Rikti War Zone.  The only thing to change would be to see the AFVs actually fighting instead of cruising around trying to pick up chicks 😄 ;  it would be so cool to see them firing their BFGs.  

The Rikti War Zone is a war zone, and Vanguard are an international Rikti combat force.

My zone would be a lot lower level, a lot more 'safe', and would be a window into the fact that the United States is absolutely still A Thing, Paragon City is in it, and the Rogue Isles is actually a sovereign nation itself. It would also show that all of this is not normal. Paragon City and the world are not normally a hellscape of endless violence and banditry. Our heroes are stepping up and taking the brunt of trying to protect the world while it tries to stand back up.

EDIT: I'd probably also have a LOT of overlap between the PPD and the US Military that's being rebuilt, to also show that the PPD is basically militarized having to fight a damn war against hordes of villain factions.

Edited December 9, 2022 by SaintD

[Sakura Tenshi]

On 11/6/2022 at 6:44 PM, tidge said:

Can we please have the "under-mountain" zone between Port Oakes and Cap Au Diable first?

Hell, just at least make it possible to travel from. Port Oakes to cap Au via the damn tunnel.

[biostem]

20 hours ago, SaintD said:

I'd add the Military Zone, dominated by a US military base where they're setting up for a major military operation to help get Paragon City more under control with a period of martial law, and start open peacekeeping operations against the Rogue Isles.

Within the scope of CoH, your rank-and-file military personnel are actually pretty ineffective.  Now, depending upon how upstanding you want the U.S. Military to be depicted, you could see them simply trying to recruit heroes and/or dealing with the more legitimate organizations within Paragon, but if you wanted a more "grey" or corrupt take, they could be dealing with Crey or maybe even trying to appropriate hero and villain DNA samples or tech for their own use.  Instead, maybe expand the story around the PPD Awakened division, having them do community outreach or trying to reclaim previously destroyed/contested areas.  Imagine PPD Awakened in Nova form scouting wrecked buildings for survivors, while ones in Dwarf form clear debris, and human form ones healing the injured, etc...

Edited December 10, 2022 by biostem