Starving for more canon lore.

[LegionAlpha]

I am just going to put it out there. I need more stories, more crossover events, real threats, monsters with a purpose. I am the Oliver Twist of the community at this point. "Can I have some more please sir"? I dig we got some for Cimorea and a TF, but I hunger for more. I feel most pages are like: Meanwhile our (insert villain or hero here)  is in peril over generic threat that is under the radar during the Inferno event (X-Men crossover for example)  in New York.  All the while the (generic Villain or hero) was doing a side quest to kill or capture some random mob boss/cartel or what have you, is not helping out in an world ending event to help the Avengers or the X-Men during the demon invasion. 

 

I am starving for more story driven content, and a constant.. I mean you can just do so many AE missions and still feel like you have not accomplished anything. Other than badges and tickets. This is not a knock on those who work hard to craft missions for AE. Believe me, I tried and it is hard to come up with stories and the right set design with current sets. 

[Snarky]

1 hour ago, LegionAlpha said:

I am just going to put it out there. I need more stories, more crossover events, real threats, monsters with a purpose. I am the Oliver Twist of the community at this point. "Can I have some more please sir"? I dig we got some for Cimorea and a TF, but I hunger for more. I feel most pages are like: Meanwhile our (insert villain or hero here)  is in peril over generic threat that is under the radar during the Inferno event (X-Men crossover for example)  in New York.  All the while the (generic Villain or hero) was doing a side quest to kill or capture some random mob boss/cartel or what have you, is not helping out in an world ending event to help the Avengers or the X-Men during the demon invasion. 

 

I am starving for more story driven content, and a constant.. I mean you can just do so many AE missions and still feel like you have not accomplished anything. Other than badges and tickets. This is not a knock on those who work hard to craft missions for AE. Believe me, I tried and it is hard to come up with stories and the right set design with current sets. 

THe Redside lore is deep and wide.  Seriously, it goes deeeeeeeeeeeep.  But you gotta embrace the madness.

[DoctorHugh]

There's an issue in a lot of MMORPG game design that 'story' is harder to deliver, with less potential payoff, than more "toolbox" options like new powersets, new animations, new costumes, new zones.

 

A surprisingly high percentage of players literally just hit "Esc/Skip/Continue" on any exposition/talky dialogs that come up. Video cut-scenes are time-intensive to develop, interesting to some and intrusive to others. It takes some pretty talented game-design + storytelling ability to weave story/lore into the game without bogging things down. Usually done as story arcs in CoH and of course the quality there varies and is a fair bit of work.

 

AE is supposed to be the jewel in the crown of CoH for adding story, background and lore without consuming all the developers' time. And even there, it's harder for people to locate the "good" stories and much easier to locate the purely mechanical farms etc.

 

I've also noticed that some people who want 'story' don't really think AE provides it, no matter how good the episode. If it isn't part of the mainstream game with mainstream rewards, then it doesn't feel like "real story" to them.

 

I think a volunteer dev team would have a hard time delivering new story of good quality in a timely fashion. It might be worth looking at something like taking the very best AE arcs, upgrading and tweaking them a bit, and then turning them into main-game mini-arcs.

[nihilii]

There's so much lore in Praetoria I'm barely aware of. At low level Praetoria story arcs are half broken and have so many conditionals you'd need a guide to go through them. At high level the lore is doled out in Incarnate trials, when everything is on a timer and everyone jumps around like crack bunnies.

The Homecoming wiki is great to fill the gaps. But I wish I could experience this ingame.

 

2 minutes ago, DoctorHugh said:

I think a volunteer dev team would have a hard time delivering new story of good quality in a timely fashion. It might be worth looking at something like taking the very best AE arcs, upgrading and tweaking them a bit, and then turning them into main-game mini-arcs.

I love this idea.

[Snarky]

56 minutes ago, nihilii said:

There's so much lore in Praetoria I'm barely aware of. At low level Praetoria story arcs are half broken and have so many conditionals you'd need a guide to go through them. At high level the lore is doled out in Incarnate trials, when everything is on a timer and everyone jumps around like crack bunnies.

The Homecoming wiki is great to fill the gaps. But I wish I could experience this ingame.

 

I love this idea.

I know a player from Cosmic who LITERALLY reads every bit of dialogue, and every CLUE in every mission.  The story is there.  It is just not spoon fed to you by a Youtuber.  You gotta dig, you gotta make a 1500+ badger look like a tourist.  

Edited January 7, 2023 by Snarky

[Ukase]

1 hour ago, DoctorHugh said:

A surprisingly high percentage of players literally just hit "Esc/Skip/Continue" on any exposition/talky dialogs that come up. Video cut-scenes are time-intensive to develop, interesting to some and intrusive to others. It takes some pretty talented game-design + storytelling ability to weave story/lore into the game without bogging things down. Usually done as story arcs in CoH and of course the quality there varies and is a fair bit of work.

 

This is, I believe, a fair explanation. 

The quality of stories vary, and candidly, the evaluation is entirely subjective beyond spelling and grammar. I look at the HM ITF, as an example. It has some amusing things, interesting mechanics, and different strategies for various encounters. 

And yet, there are many of us that are reward driven, or driven just for speed of accomplishment. 

It's unrealistic to expect any new content to please everyone. The players would gobble up a new powerset, a new zone with multiple arcs within a month. And then there's a want for more. For a volunteer staff, they give us far more than I would have ever expected. Page 3...well, for me, it was really too much at once. But that's just my thought. 

Snarky is right on one point, there's a lot to read in the red side dialogues. 
There's also a lot of content in the Shadow Shard that often gets forgotten. 

Gold side - including First and Night Ward also have a fair bit of content, if you're inclined to read it. 

Another story line that may have escaped you is something that's not in Ouro as far as I know - the Kheldian story lines, if you're a PB or WS. 

[nihilii]

37 minutes ago, Snarky said:

I know a player from Cosmic who LITERALLY reads every bit of dialogue, and every CLUE in every mission.  The story is there.  It is just not spoon fed to you by a Youtuber.  You gotta dig, you gotta make a 1500+ badger look like a tourist.  

I'm more of the following school of philosophy:

[tidge]

I agree with the general concept of "more lore, please"... however my own preference would be to "flesh out" the blue side zones and groups that (personal opinion) don't seem to have much excuse/rationale for their motivations. As @Snarky mentioned, Red Side is quite good at this, with only a handful of (again IMO) weak links... and the Goldbrickers have finally gotten their due with the Aeon SF!

 

I am very disinterested in the "cosmic level" threats, and the "read along with someone else's story" of the first Signature Story arc (and revamped Dark Astoria, for that matter) strikes me as very self-indulgent. I like the new-ish content that has been added, and I don't want to diminish the good efforts there... but I'd be happy with some less complicated story arcs explaining what is going on in Boomtown or Terra Volta, or even the recruiting in Brickstown... with the ability to simply turn up the difficulty via existing methods. It's also always bothered me that we don't have an early-to-mid-level hero arc that really explains what is the deal between Blue Steel and the Clockwork King.

[Snarky]

3 minutes ago, tidge said:

I agree with the general concept of "more lore, please"... however my own preference would be to "flesh out" the blue side zones and groups that (personal opinion) don't seem to have much excuse/rationale for their motivations. As @Snarky mentioned, Red Side is quite good at this, with only a handful of (again IMO) weak links... and the Goldbrickers have finally gotten their due with the Aeon SF!

 

I am very disinterested in the "cosmic level" threats, and the "read along with someone else's story" of the first Signature Story arc (and revamped Dark Astoria, for that matter) strikes me as very self-indulgent. I like the new-ish content that has been added, and I don't want to diminish the good efforts there... but I'd be happy with some less complicated story arcs explaining what is going on in Boomtown or Terra Volta, or even the recruiting in Brickstown... with the ability to simply turn up the difficulty via existing methods. It's also always bothered me that we don't have an early-to-mid-level hero arc that really explains what is the deal between Blue Steel and the Clockwork King.

I agree wholeheartedly.  While I am not much of a Bluesider I have done the arcs, all of them.  They are dry as a saltine cracker dinner with no drinks.  

 

The exact details of what happened Between Blue Steel and Clock are not recorded.  But it probably was not as long as the Punisher prison hall fight scene.  Blue lost his cool and a non super crumpled.  This is one of the many reasons I run Red, then you can say "I planned that" and laugh.  (until you cry...  just kidding.  am i?)  But we DO know the important part of Clock's journey after that.  It is told in a glorious tapestry across Blue side, Redside, Gold, and the RWZ....anfd Incarnate content!  Clocks be everywhere!

 

 

Form the history books:

 

Gears, ratchets, sockets, and springs. Certain streets and empty lots of Paragon City shudder under the weight of mechanized feet, stomping Clockwork soldiers performing mysterious acts of violence and aggression.

The first of these Clockwork men – commonly called Sprockets – appeared several years ago. Early reports were confused, as victims and witnesses thought the Clockwork men might be one or two super-powered villains. Although violent, they were stealing objects of relatively low value – copper wire and steel cable, metal beams and machine shop tools. Incident followed incident, and suddenly there was a rash of Sprocket crime through the industrial districts of Paragon.

Initially confused, and somewhat amused by the strange robots behavior and appearance, police finally took the Clockwork seriously when an officer was killed trying to prevent two Sprockets from stealing a spool of copper wire from a cable service van. The police cracked down, but the Clockwork men proved difficult to injure or contain, due to a single-minded purpose and their metallic hide. So the commissioner called in a number of favors with local heroes, including the former policeman Blue Steel, and a city-wide manhunt was undertaken.

The Sprockets were eventually tracked down to an abandoned warehouse, where a major assembly line production seemed underway. There were dozens of Sprockets attempting to construct scores more of their kind. Blue Steel scouted ahead and reportedly saw a young, disheveled man overseeing the operations.

When the combined task force of heroes and police raided the warehouse, all hell broke loose. In the firefight that ensued, several propane tanks were ignited and the warehouse caught fire. The robots fought on, ignoring the flames. When the heroes and SWAT Team finally broke their ranks, it appeared that a number had escaped, including the young man. Tragically, three officers were killed in the fight and fire.

Blue Steel chased after the robots, ranging far ahead of his fellow heroes and the SWAT Team. The young man was carried through the sewers by a half dozen robots, and finally reached a “safe house,” a decrepit bungalow in Boomtown. When Blue Steel radioed back to the commissioner, he learned of the officer casualties … and a fury exploded within him. He launched himself into the bungalow.

The young man was too disoriented from the early encounter, hurt by smoke and fatigue, and could not coordinate a proper defense. Blue Steel single-handedly smashed the Sprockets to pieces, and then turned his rage upon the man, beating him into a bloody pulp. Blue Steel collapsed, exhausted and spent. He checked on the man, and felt the bile rise when he realized the man was dead. Disgusted with himself and the whole day’s tragedy, Blue Steel radioed in for the coroner and clean-up crew. With a heavy heart he left to help fight the fire. The pieces could be sorted out later.

Thus there were no witnesses to whatever happened next. When Blue Steel returned later, the emergency crew was cleaning up the debris. There was sign of the scuffle, but none of the Sprockets were there, nor was the body of the young man. Had Blue Steel been wrong, and the man not died? Did the robots repair themselves and carry the corpse away? Was there something else at work here?

[Bionic_Flea]

I really like cutscenes . . . the first time.  The next few are still amusing.  But after a certain point it becomes a little like this:

 

 

[Xiddo]

4 hours ago, tidge said:

i am very disinterested in the "cosmic level" threats, and the "read along with someone else's story" of the first Signature Story arc (and revamped Dark Astoria, for that matter) strikes me as very self-indulgent.
 

It's also always bothered me that we don't have an early-to-mid-level hero arc that really explains what is the deal between Blue Steel and the Clockwork King.

I agree on these points. Cosmic isn’t my bag. As a comics reader, give me street level/ corporation level over space. The sinister six/ most recent devil reign stuff is good in marvel.

 

In a way, I always felt like the best lore in CoH had been told much before we ever began able to play? Nemesis becoming Emperor is a good example. Now Nemesis don’t really seem a threat.

I had hoped that Ouro would let us see some of those big stories more. Imagine if we could be a part of the first Rikti invasion. The letters from the cape mission time capsule thing are great bits of lore. One of them is beautifully written, a hero going to the homeworld who never told her husband who she was and how he’d wake up the next day never knowing. I’d love to give them a happy ending.

 

I think Rebirth’s new thing is Blue steely 👀 if you’ve seen the trailer.