Major CoH character design changes?

[Glacier Peak]

Folks, I am interested in reading about character design changes in this game. Was Statesman originally a scrawny asthma stricken kid from Brooklyn who couldn't enlist in the Army? Did Sister Psyche ever have super speed? What about these super heroes we see every time we log in to the game?

 

Share your trivial knowledge! Add in some in-game lore or AMA if you can too!

 

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The reason I started this thread was because of Back Alley Brawler's current incarnation, (really since pre-destroyed Galaxy City), has been as shown:

 

 

Current (Atlas Park) 2023 Back Alley Brawler:

 

Former (Galaxy City) 200?-201? Back Alley Brawler: Thanks @Ashington!

 

Former (Galaxy City) 2004 Back Alley Brawler: Thanks Gamespot! 

 

Pre-release Back Alley Brawler:

 

[Snarky]

The biggest change in characters is the Clockwork King.  Who went from a stalkery youth with superpowers to a (after a definitive beatdown by a hero) brain in a jar robo-chomo

[Glacier Peak]

  On 7/6/2023 at 1:37 AM, Snarky said:

The biggest change in characters is the Clockwork King.  Who went from a stalkery youth with superpowers to a (after a definitive beatdown by a hero) brain in a jar robo-chomo

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Whoa really? I thought it had to do with... 

 

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... Blue Shield basically murdering the kid?

[Captain Fabulous]

Off the top of my head I can't think any of heroes who got costume changes, except for Statesman's cape. Penny Yin perhaps, but I think that's more of seeing her evolve over time in-game.

[Snarky]

  On 7/6/2023 at 2:37 AM, Glacier Peak said:

Whoa really? I thought it had to do with... 

 

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... Blue Shield basically murdering the kid?

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A definitive beatdown by a Hero = Blue Shield basically murdering the kid.

 

What...am I speaking Urdu here?

[TheZag]

Swan had that feather thing added.  Bastion was renamed to Citadel to avoid legal concerns.  I think Ms Liberty got her belt later as well as Mynx getting her emblem.  BaB skin tone change was probably the most noticable.  Its mostly a bunch of little changes,  usually costume additions,  to the characters.

 

Edited July 6, 2023 by TheZag

[Techwright]

  On 7/6/2023 at 10:52 AM, TheZag said:

  BaB skin tone change was probably the most noticable. 

 

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Is that the change between those first two in-game photos of BaB up above?  I'm looking them over and not noticing any difference.  I thought it might be the musculature, but that could be explained by the angle of the shot creating an illusion of sorts.  Skin tone never occurred to me as one shot is in heavy shade for the full shot.

 

 

 

Don't forget that Positron, as his story progressed, was given a model that had the helmet removed.

[Glacier Peak]

  On 7/6/2023 at 12:31 PM, Techwright said:

Is that the change between those first two in-game photos of BaB up above?  I'm looking them over and not noticing any difference.  I thought it might be the musculature, but that could be explained by the angle of the shot creating an illusion of sorts.  Skin tone never occurred to me as one shot is in heavy shade for the full shot.

 

Don't forget that Positron, as his story progressed, was given a model that had the helmet removed.

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Without having access to my old screenshots, I can only anecdotally confirm Michael White was once white skinned. 

[TheZag]

  On 7/6/2023 at 12:31 PM, Techwright said:

Is that the change between those first two in-game photos of BaB up above?  I'm looking them over and not noticing any difference.  I thought it might be the musculature, but that could be explained by the angle of the shot creating an illusion of sorts.  Skin tone never occurred to me as one shot is in heavy shade for the full shot.

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The 2004 screenshot of BaB has a much lighter skin tone. I remember ingame after seeing the change and thinking 'oh, they made him black' as he had always looked hispanic or having the perfect tan in the earlier iteration.

 

[Scarlet Shocker]

  On 7/6/2023 at 12:31 PM, Techwright said:

Don't forget that Positron, as his story progressed, was given a model that had the helmet removed.

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The unkindest cut of all!

 

Just a shame they didn't remove a lot more! Positron went from a relatively obscure quiet scientist to being an annoying front and centre egocentric shite!

[EmperorSteele]

Hamidon used to be a person.

 

=P

[lemming]

Praetorians got a makeover when they expanded the storyline.    Clockwork got an overhaul for Neuron & Antimatter.   Siege & Nightstar got tweaked.  (Siege more so)

You still see some of the old minions in some of the extra missions, most notable Praetor Duncun...

[MyriVerse]

  On 7/6/2023 at 1:30 AM, Glacier Peak said:

Was Statesman originally a scrawny asthma stricken kid from Brooklyn

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No, but States was affected by Mustard Gas in WWI and was quite ill before getting superpowers from the  Well of Furies.

[Hyperstrike]

  On 7/6/2023 at 3:06 AM, Captain Fabulous said:

Off the top of my head I can't think any of heroes who got costume changes, except for Statesman's cape. Penny Yin perhaps, but I think that's more of seeing her evolve over time in-game.

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Well, the thing with CK and Penny was kinda...well...KINDA...

Sorta squick level of Tyrant and Dominatrix...
Pre-revamp of the Praetorians.

[Hyperstrike]

  On 7/6/2023 at 8:05 PM, lemming said:

Praetorians got a makeover when they expanded the storyline.    Clockwork got an overhaul for Neuron & Antimatter.   Siege & Nightstar got tweaked.  (Siege more so)

You still see some of the old minions in some of the extra missions, most notable Praetor Duncun...

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Duncan's storyline was also tweaked to remove some rather "squicky" things.

[tidge]

  On 7/6/2023 at 12:31 PM, Techwright said:

Don't forget that Positron, as his story progressed, was given a model that had the helmet removed.

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IIRC, at launch Positron also had a costume that used the circuitry-looking overlay to his costume. I had picked the same for my launch-day character and I was slightly non-plussed to find an NPC with the similar costume.

[Darmian]

  On 7/7/2023 at 7:58 AM, Hyperstrike said:

Duncan's storyline was also tweaked to remove some rather "squicky" things.

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There was no storyline to tweak. Any "squick" was a combo of player readings and, as pointed out by the OG Devs, a single image in the comics where the artist hadn't known Domi was Tyrant's granddaughter.*

 

*Probably not conveyed by the writer to the artist considering how many comics are scripted etc.

Edited July 7, 2023 by Darmian

[TheZag]

The line that used to be in her bio that said she served Cole in all capacities didnt help.  I think that line is gone now.  Thats the problem with text though,  one persons innocent comment is another persons dirty joke.

 

[Glacier Peak]

  On 7/6/2023 at 5:42 PM, EmperorSteele said:

Hamidon used to be a person.

 

=P

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The Praetorian one looks just like Dexter from Dexter's Laboratory. 

[Darmian]

  On 7/7/2023 at 4:32 PM, TheZag said:

The line that used to be in her bio that said she served Cole in all capacities didnt help.  I think that line is gone now.  Thats the problem with text though,  one persons innocent comment is another persons dirty joke.

 

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Yep. If it had been in Chimera's bio it would never have been read that way. 

 

The game was effectively PG13, so no, the "squick" didn't exist.

[huang3721]

  On 7/7/2023 at 1:15 PM, Darmian said:

Any "squick" was a combo of player readings. . .

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  On 7/7/2023 at 4:32 PM, TheZag said:

The line that used to be in her bio that said she served Cole in all capacities didn't help.

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People living in an authoritarian regime always serve their leader in all capacities.

 

Or else. 

 

Also, I think someone should get their mind out of the gutter. Or, maybe check their prejudice against other less democratic political systems.

[Hyperstrike]

  On 7/8/2023 at 4:09 AM, huang3721 said:

Or, maybe check their prejudice against other less democratic political systems.

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Yeah...Don't see that happening anytime short of the Heat Death of the Universe.

[Glacier Peak]

So other dramatic character changes across the life of the game? Aurora Borealis and Sister Psyche? That was a surprise to me. What about any arch villains?

[Arbegla]

  On 7/8/2023 at 1:37 PM, Glacier Peak said:

So other dramatic character changes across the life of the game? Aurora Borealis and Sister Psyche? That was a surprise to me. What about any arch villains?

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Malaise multiple times over. First in the long forgotten Task Force (now Story Arc) from the original 'husband' of Aurora, to his change from being under Sister Psyche's wing as a sidekick/mental project to his flip in the SSA. His story is very convoluted and confusing if you try to untangle all the times he's mentioned.

[Herotu]

  On 7/6/2023 at 1:37 AM, Snarky said:

The biggest change in characters is the Clockwork King.  Who went from a stalkery youth with superpowers to a (after a definitive beatdown by a hero) brain in a jar robo-chomo

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Hero 1's costume change was pretty radical.