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

[Starhammer]

I also want to add "Snake Mountain" which is not an actual mountain, but rather an Underdark-like series of caverns and tunnels deep underground connecting the Rogue Isles similarly to (though not exactly the same as) the Paragon Sewer Network (Snake Mountain was originally a translation error, but it stuck so that's just what everyone calls it). Snake Mountain has a variety of regions where locals can be hostile or even downright personable, with many in Sssnake Ssscity (their Capital) being courteous and diplomatic as well as having merchants, politicians, and even a few mission contacts. Within Snake Mountain is an ongoing crisis however, as some ambitious Arachnos mad scientist has decided to go a-tinkering with the snakes and making a genetic hybrid of spider-snakes called "Arachnophidians". Graphically, these are simply Snakes with Arachnoid spider arms on their backs, colored Arachnos black & red for the most part (Inspired largely by the internet meme of the Tarantula-Rattlesnake hybrid). Though fewer in number, the Arachnophidians are stronger and more ambitious... also more hungry, and so begins the Snake Civil War. Players can participate in the war, favoring either side (ala Gold zone loyalty choice mechanisms), or just screwing over everyone to pursue their own goals. Completing the final mission of the series triggers an invasion style event with Snakes, Arachnos, and Arachnophidians fighting a three-way war in the streets, ending in a climax with a massive Arachnophidian Giant Monster spawning to go on a Godzilla-esque rampage.

[Glacier Peak]

On 8/23/2023 at 3:20 AM, Scarlet Shocker said:

Also, we don't need Zero G except in one particular area. 

You'd be surprised what can be done with enough dev interest and ingenuity. 

[Glacier Peak]

9 minutes ago, Starhammer said:

I also want to add "Snake Mountain" which is not an actual mountain, but rather an Underdark-like series of caverns and tunnels deep underground connecting the Rogue Isles similarly to (though not exactly the same as) the Paragon Sewer Network (Snake Mountain was originally a translation error, but it stuck so that's just what everyone calls it). Snake Mountain has a variety of regions where locals can be hostile or even downright personable, with many in Sssnake Ssscity (their Capital) being courteous and diplomatic as well as having merchants, politicians, and even a few mission contacts. Within Snake Mountain is an ongoing crisis however, as some ambitious Arachnos mad scientist has decided to go a-tinkering with the snakes and making a genetic hybrid of spider-snakes called "Arachnophidians". Graphically, these are simply Snakes with Arachnoid spider arms on their backs, colored Arachnos black & red for the most part (Inspired largely by the internet meme of the Tarantula-Rattlesnake hybrid). Though fewer in number, the Arachnophidians are stronger and more ambitious... also more hungry, and so begins the Snake Civil War. Players can participate in the war, favoring either side (ala Gold zone loyalty choice mechanisms), or just screwing over everyone to pursue their own goals. Completing the final mission of the series triggers an invasion style event with Snakes, Arachnos, and Arachnophidians fighting a three-way war in the streets, ending in a climax with a massive Arachnophidian Giant Monster spawning to go on a Godzilla-esque rampage.

I think we've got that Arachnos giant monster already, but it doesn't spawn outside of missions. That's the Jade Spider.

 

Giant snake sounds cool though!

[Starhammer]

And the last one immediately rattling around in my brain is Cloudy Cove, originally an idea I suggested for City of Titans, that would work fine here with minimal alteration...(Technically, Cloudy Cove would be a collection of related zones, almost like Praetoria. We could even make it "Green Side" and give it a starting location and tutorial mission):
 

So I was wondering to myself, how is it that the Aethyr Pirates can keep fleets of airships in operation over a US city and not fall prey to sorties from Air Force strike fighters, or any other form of organized assault.

I would like to suggest a zone, "Cloudy Cove" that is more or less the Opal Room of the skies. A floating city built on a combination of magic and technology, shielded from scrying and satellite surveillance, that functions as a freeport for airship captains and other aeroadventurers... maybe even a pitstop for extraterrestrials visiting Earth, like a Stuckey's in the sky. It would have a style patched together from the Caribbean islands from the golden age of piracy, a healthy mix of steam/diesel punk, and some ultra-futuristic high technology. It should only be accessible by air travel or teleportation, but more importantly, even through those travel powers you can't get there without access to "The Beacon". The Beacon would be a simple thing, similar in functionality to the exploration badge in Ouroboros, but the general rule is that if you don't know how to find it, we can't tell you how to find it. Those without access to The Beacon might find a way to fly into the giant cloud formation that is rumored to contain Cloudy Cove, but they'll never find the actual zone. Perhaps if they stow away on and Aether Pirate airship (a daunting task in it's own right) or find a magical portal located within the base of a secret society, they can reach this mysterious hideaway, and convince the Governor to allow them to return so long as they swear not to betray the secret (after of course, convincing the Governor to allow them to leave).

 

Just to clear up some confusion, the mix of magic and technology is to make the zone have something for players of either bent (or both). While the intent is that the Aether Pirates are one of the groups that get the most out of it, it's not "their" zone. They just give the Governor a portion of their loot as tribute in return for a safe harbor, as should most others who show up there. Players would be most likely to give "tribute" by performing some service or favor that earns them the Governor's respect and/or appreciation (Or maybe they just took down a Chaser transaction, and have a *Bag of Cash* in their inventory). The zone, like the rest of the game, is for the players. It just happens to be my preferred answer to "Where do they hide all those airships?"

 

I'm sure that as a zone, it would be functionally broken up into a few neighborhoods...

EDIT: added some more fleshing out, because sometimes the words get free of their cells, and stuff happens.

 

The Aetherhood - a Caribbean Steampunk shantytown. Unlike most of the other islands in the chain, Aethyrhood and Ptera Peak are the same landmass, and the second largest in the bunch. If game technology allows, Aetherhood should be infested with steampunk cyborg monkeys and parrots, who when clicked on, will reach into your inventory and steal a random boost, or deposit one.

 

Ptera Peak - Where the flying dinofolks hang out. Also a popular getaway for climbers that are neither shiny nor tasty.

The Black Block - a subdued set of warehouses and runways used by modern military and espionage forces. Unlike other neighborhoods, an exclusive contract has been arranged that makes everyone else unwelcome in The Black Block, except by explicit invitation from its administration. Don't come looking for them. If they think you should be here, they'll let you know.

 

Area 53 - a parking garage, spaceship wash, and interstellar Stuckey's, also functioning as a "no questions asked" drop off point for alien abductees. Repairs to nearly any form of conveyance can be arranged here at any time of day. It's the intent for Area 53 to take some of the most horrifying tropes about alien abduction and invasion, and turn them on their head to make this a friendly, maybe even a little campy, location. A little less goofy than the diner in Spaceballs, but kinda leaning that direction.

 

New Old Kabal - a neutral zone for angels, demons, wizards, witches, and anyone else who can burn the right candles and speak the wrong words to find it.

 

Undertown - A mysterious subterranean section that has been colonized mostly by mole men. Even though there are no physical tunnels connecting the separate islands, Undertown manages to connect to all of them.

 

Zzen - A high tech hacker hotspot. Unlimited free wifi. 12G speeds. Also popular with cyborgs and robots. The premier market for bleeding edge tech overnight express from Japan.

 

The Fort - The centerpiece of the zone, and largest island in the group is a semi-active volcano with a military fort built around it. It is here that The Governor is rumored to reside and command his forces, a cosmopolitan group of volunteers representing the larger factions of the island. Like the Wizard of Oz, The Governor is a mysterious figure. If anyone is ever in direct contact with him (or her, or it?) nobody knows for certain who that is. Some theorize that The Governor doesn't even exist, and is just a fictional figurehead allowing the faction leaders to act with authority. Others claim to have been entertained personally by The Governor, but are unwilling, or unable, to give details of the meeting.
 

Cloudy Cove itself is an island chain that makes pun of the phrase, being a number of smaller floating islands literally chained together by gigantic rusty anchor chains. Some of the islands have springs and pools and waterfalls, some have bubbling lakes of lava. The sky varies from clear and sunny and blue to cloudy and thunderstorms, following a day and night cycle close, but not perfectly aligned, with it's external geographical location. The weather seems to be independent of local weather patterns and seasons, though once a major hurricane did have an effect on the islands as well. To the best of anyone's reasoning, the overall phenomena is the result of a nexus between other dimensions commonly associated with the 4 primary "elements" of Fire, Earth, Air, and Water, but nobody seems to know exactly how it all works, or if they do, they aren't telling. Some suspect magic, some suspect technology, others suspect both or neither. One way or another, it works. Conceptually it is somewhat similar to a TARDIS, having as much interior space as it needs without regard to how much external space it covers. It might be connected to The Bermuda Triangle, with things that disappear there ending up here.

 

Cloudy Cove isn't just for people on the run or needing to hide out, but also for those willing to work for or with such people, or even those who just need to live someplace a little more free of authority. Like The Opal Room, it's something of a neutral zone for those who can reach it, but not quite so strict. Many of it's residents and visitors are violent people who react violently to other violent people. The occasional brawl or even murder is accepted, but if things get too out of hand, the major factions put a stop to it so that it doesn't become a problem for them.

[Starhammer]

16 minutes ago, Glacier Peak said:

I think we've got that Arachnos giant monster already, but it doesn't spawn outside of missions. That's the Jade Spider.

 

Giant snake sounds cool though!

Arachnophidians are really more of a subfaction of The Snakes rather than Arachnos... An Arachnos mad scientist merely Frankensteined them (We don't know if this was authorized or not... permission isn't really a thing in the Rogue Isles) so it's not just a giant snake, it's a Giant Monster from The Snakes.

[Scarlet Shocker]

51 minutes ago, Glacier Peak said:

I think we've got that Arachnos giant monster already, but it doesn't spawn outside of missions. That's the Jade Spider.

Doesn't it spawn in one of the PVP zones?

[Alverant]

If this hasn't been mentioned before, how about a Shadow Shard zone for the villains? That way they can get some of those Hunting badges too.

[Glacier Peak]

56 minutes ago, Scarlet Shocker said:

Doesn't it spawn in one of the PVP zones?

It's an instanced version of half of the Siren's Call zone map.

[Techwright]

On 8/26/2023 at 10:10 PM, Alverant said:

If this hasn't been mentioned before, how about a Shadow Shard zone for the villains? That way they can get some of those Hunting badges too.

 

Sorry for the extremely late reply.  For some reason, some of my threads don't notify me of updates, and I just discovered this while doing some digging.

 

Yeah, a villain-focused Shadow Shard is definitely needed.

[Scarlet Shocker]

I would very much like to visit Dr Raymond Keyes moon base.

[biostem]

6 hours ago, Techwright said:

a villain-focused Shadow Shard is definitely needed.

Couldn't they just have Dr. Aeon or someone fake some credentials, hack into Portal Corp's systems, then send you to the same place, only with a portal in Nerva or Grandville?  Basically, turning the Shadow Shard into a co-op zone.

Edited December 18, 2023 by biostem

[Azari]

A zone with all level 54 enemies for street sweeping. 
 

how about Outbreak? Turn it into a 54 hazard zone full of incarnate level enemies haha

Edited December 18, 2023 by Azari