Invisible Jetpack?

[Random Robot]

This is a pretty simple suggestion. The Jetpacks from the P2W vendor are a great quality of life addition but unless your character is tech focused they tend to break your theme. It'd be great if there was a jetpack power that simply didn't have a 3D model attached. 🙂

[Rudra]

You can also take the Void Skiff and whatever the flying carpet is called. The down side to those is you can't use any powers while on them. Alternate "jetpacks" could also be an option.

 

(Though as far as the P2W jetpack breaking theme? Your character bought a jetpack. It's not an inherent power, it is an item bought from a vendor. So not really part of any theme. If you want a flight power that doesn't have the attached model and is already available, you can take Fly or Mystic Flight at level 4.)

[RobotLove]

https://homecoming.wiki/wiki/Flight

[JasperStone]

I have always wanted an Ant-Grav belt .... Speed could sit between hover and flight.

 

 

[Captain Fabulous]

There's also the Rocket Board, Flying Carpet, and Void Skiff from the P2W vendor. The latter two would be appropriate for non-tech themed characters.

[gameboy1234]

It would be nice if the Prestige (?) flight powers like Rocket Board didn't shut off all of your own powers.  I think the idea behind that is to make them not as good as the in game power Flight.  With Homecoming giving those away for free I don't there's a good reason to make them do that, "P2W" really isn't a thing anymore.  Or find some other way to make them not as good as Flight (like maybe reduce their speed to be about 10% less than Flight).  Shutting off all of your powers is super annoying, really disproportionately so.

 

I can also get behind the OP's request, a model-less temp power would be fine.  I wonder if a SFX would be OK (I'd like some SFX) or if the OP wants the power to not have any SFX too.

 

 

[Naomi]

Just now, gameboy1234 said:

It would be nice if the Prestige (?) flight powers like Rocket Board didn't shut off all of your own powers.  I think the idea behind that is to make them not as good as the in game power Flight.  With Homecoming giving those away for free I don't there's a good reason to make them do that, "P2W" really isn't a thing anymore.  Or find some other way to make them not as good as Flight (like maybe reduce their speed to be about 10% less than Flight).  Shutting off all of your powers is super annoying, really disproportionately so.

 

I can also get behind the OP's request, a model-less temp power would be fine.  I wonder if a SFX would be OK (I'd like some SFX) or if the OP wants the power to not have any SFX too.

 

 

 

They shut off powers because there's no combat animations like flight has for those.

[Rudra]

5 minutes ago, gameboy1234 said:

It would be nice if the Prestige (?) flight powers like Rocket Board didn't shut off all of your own powers.  I think the idea behind that is to make them not as good as the in game power Flight.

The reason behind that is the combat animations and their current (in)ability to interface with the Rocket Board and similar powers while in use actually.

 

6 minutes ago, gameboy1234 said:

 

I can also get behind the OP's request, a model-less temp power would be fine.  I wonder if a SFX would be OK (I'd like some SFX) or if the OP wants the power to not have any SFX too.

If you want a flight power that lacks the VFX of Jetpack, there is Fly and Mystic Flight. They don't have any linked models with their use.

[Random Robot]

I'm aware that there are power pools that offer flight, the point I was making was that the jetpacks from the P2W vendor are a nice QOL feature. They offer the ability for 3d movement for characters that don't take one of the two flight pools. They have an elevated stamina cost and are unaffected by endurance discount, that being the trade off for not having to spend one of your 4 power pool choices on flight. There are several mechanically identical powers with differently themed models to choose from but all of the options are tech themed so it would be nice if there was an additional one with no 3D model attached for those for who want to take advantage of the option but find that none of the models fit their theme.

 

One could make the argument that the jetpacks are overpowered but that isn't relevant to this suggestion, which is purely that I would like an additional visual option for the powers available for purchase.

[Rudra]

Great! So if you want a flight power that doesn't have a jetpack or other associated model with it, then you know you can take Fly or Mystic Flight. I am very much against a new version of the jetpack that has no model or an invisible model. Take Fly or Mystic Flight. That is why they are there. So that you can have a flight power that works with wings, other player chosen costume pieces like a tech belt for an anti-gravity belt, or nothing at all. Having a jetpack with no model or an invisible model would defeat the purpose of the Fly power pool.

 

Edit: So basically, the tradeoff for using a jetpack is that you have a jetpack. If you want alternate versions of jetpacks? I'm all for it. If you want no jetpack for jetpack? No. The price of being able to enjoy a pool power without taking that pool is you have a set model defined as providing the flight power. (The higher END cost of jetpacks is also part of the price, but face it, no one really cares about or notices that 0.114/sec extra END cost.)

Edited May 21, 2023 by Rudra

[gameboy1234]

12 hours ago, Naomi said:

 

They shut off powers because there's no combat animations like flight has for those.

 

Shutting off powers that need no animations, like defensive powers or Invisibility (which I guess is Stealth now), is a huge bummer though.  Allowing these to remain active would be really sweet.

 

(Yes I know many defensive powers have an animation when they activate.  They don't really need it though.)

 

[Parabola]

How about we ask for additional 'jetpack' variants that fit origins other than tech/natural better. Maybe a magic one could simply have the full mystic flight fx always on or have the character hold a wand or something. A mutation one could maybe force a pair of wings on the character (replacing anything they currently have in the back slot). That way the niche of real flight powers is protected but the utility of temp power flight is a little more available to characters of other origins.

 

As it stands we have the unbalanced situation where freeish flight is available but if I am planning to use it I feel steered towards certain origins. End cost and fx aren't the only limitations of jetpack flight by the way. It's slower (no afterburner) and you lose out on the ability to slot it. When I have created characters that rely on it I've had to burn a slot elsewhere to get a winter's gift slow resist into the build.

[kelika2]

If Vanity is that conflicting to Utility, you never had a reason to post in the first place.

[Saiyajinzoningen]

On 5/20/2023 at 11:22 AM, JasperStone said:

I have always wanted an Ant-Grav belt .... Speed could sit between hover and flight.

 

 

yes this 1000 times this!

[JasperStone]

12 minutes ago, Saiyajinzoningen said:

yes this 1000 times this!

OR

It could just hover with more limited movement.

 

[Player2]

On 5/19/2023 at 11:55 PM, kidsnowflake said:

but unless your character is tech focused they tend to break your theme.

 

True story:  non-tech oriented characters can still use tech.

 

Spider-Man would be a science hero, having gained his powers through a sciencey origin with the radioactive spider bite.

This has not, however, stopped him from regularly using mechanical webshooters to supplement his spider-theme, not to mention his spider-tracers... as well as occasionally resorting to other tech gadgets as needed, including a suit of armor, a Tony Stark designed body suit with extra arms and loads of tech stuff, and many more over the years

 

And let's not forget my favorite: a dune buggy!

 

 

[Random Robot]

2 minutes ago, Player2 said:

 

True story:  non-tech oriented characters can still use tech.

 

Spider-Man would be a science hero, having gained his powers through a sciencey origin with the radioactive spider bite.

This has not, however, stopped him from regularly using mechanical webshooters to supplement his spider-theme,

 

Now do Swamp Thing. 🙂

[Player2]

Likewise, being tech-specific does not preclude one from using magic... as Iron Man demonstrated when he briefly claimed and used the legendary Excalibur when Merlin whisked he and Dr. Doom into the future.

 

[Player2]

6 minutes ago, kidsnowflake said:

 

Now do Swamp Thing. 🙂

How about Marvel's Man-Thing?  ...with guns?

 

[Random Robot]

2 minutes ago, Player2 said:

How about Marvel's Man-Thing?  ...with guns?

 

 

Not going to lie, I'd totally play that character. 🙂

 

The point I'm making though is it'd be nice to have the option to stay on theme with the P2W travel powers. Ninja Run got Beast Run and Athletic Run for people who aren't ninjas.

[Rudra]

No, with the request for a model-less jetpack, you are asking to get the Fly or Mystic Flight power without having to spend the power slot to get it. A natural character uses whatever that character's skills enable him/her/them/it to use. Doesn't matter if its magic, tech, Horror From Beyond Veil, or anything else. A mutant also uses tech. There is a dragon-themed villainous in Marvel comics who uses technology for her flight and her mutant powered blasts to attack. Science characters have no problem using technology. Technology is derived from science after all. Magic characters also use technology, though their power sources are arcane in nature. Technomancy is a thing.

 

Same thing for characters finding, buying, being given, or otherwise possessing magic when their origin isn't magic. Same thing with mutation powers. Magic, science, and technology are commonly known to be used to cause intentional or unintentional mutations in others. So on and so forth. Your theme and the ability of your character to make use of available items in the game is entirely up to you, but to me, it looks like you are being willfully blind to just how expansive your theme actually is.

 

Again, I am perfectly fine with alternate types of jetpacks. I would be very happy if the Void Skiff, Rocketboard, and Flying Carpet got the animations they needed to stop locking out player powers. A no jetpack version of the jetpack though is out of the question to me though.

[Random Robot]

1 minute ago, Rudra said:

No, with the request for a model-less jetpack, you are asking to get the Fly or Mystic Flight power without having to spend the power slot to get it.

 

So it's an opportunity cost based purely on subjective visual taste? If a jetpack fits my theme (or I don't care about theme) then I get to use a temp, otherwise I have to spent a power slot? That's ridiculous. The opportunity cost of the P2W travel powers are increased endurance costs, lower speed and being unable to enhance them. Locking power behind visual aesthetic in a game that's all -about- visual aesthetic is, again, ridiculous. Fly and Mystic Flight are both objectively better than the P2W powers and that's what makes them worth the power slot, not the fact that they have unique visuals.

[ClawsandEffect]

Your characters are so bound by their theme that a sorcerer would refuse to use a tech derived jetpack to fly, thus saving his magical energy for something more important? 

 

Even when the technology for said jetpack is readily available at retail stores all over the city he's active in?

 

Seriously, according to the lore of the game, he can literally walk into a technology store and BUY a jetpack. The Hero Corps rep in Steel Canyon hands out hundreds of them like Halloween candy every day. 

 

Your character's origin doesn't matter at all to use one. Especially when they are apparently so simple to use that the Hero Corps guy will happily hand one over to a time displaced Roman Legionary who is still dumbfounded by the existence of cars. 

 

Sorry, dude. It really sounds like you just want Flight without spending a power pool pick on it. 

[Random Robot]

Just now, ClawsandEffect said:

Your characters are so bound by their theme that a sorcerer would refuse to use a tech derived jetpack to fly, thus saving his magical energy for something more important? 

 

Even when the technology for said jetpack is readily available at retail stores all over the city he's active in?

 

Seriously, according to the lore of the game, he can literally walk into a technology store and BUY a jetpack. The Hero Corps rep in Steel Canyon hands out hundreds of them like Halloween candy every day. 

 

Your character's origin doesn't matter at all to use one. Especially when they are apparently so simple to use that the Hero Corps guy will happily hand one over to a time displaced Roman Legionary who is still dumbfounded by the existence of cars. 

 

Sorry, dude. It really sounds like you just want Flight without spending a power pool pick on it. 

 

"You want your fire aura to be part of your costume? Sorry dude, it sounds like you're trying to get fire armor without paying for it."

[Random Robot]

For 50,000 Inf I can get 30 minutes of 0.75mag flight at at 150.15% flight speed for 0.57 end/second with the visuals of a Goldbricker jetpack. Alternatively for 50,000 Inf I can get 30 minutes of 0.75mag flight at at 150.15% flight speed for 0.57 end/second with the visuals of a Longbow Jetpack. 

 

What I'm suggesting is that for 50,000 Inf I can get 30 minutes of 0.75mag flight at at 150.15% flight speed for 0.57 end/second with the visuals of...Minimal FX.

 

There are already 6 different visual options for 30 minutes of 0.75mag flight at at 150.15% flight speed for 0.57 end/second. A seventh option that doesn't even require creating new assets is asking too much?