20th Anniversary Q&A - Question Submission Thread

[Arcanum]

City of Heroes 20th Anniversary Q&A

Question Submission Thread

 

Hi everyone! We're so excited to be teaming up with some members of the Original City of Heroes Team to host this Q&A! Please use this thread to post any questions you may have. Answers will not be posted in this thread - we'll be collecting the questions and then compiling the answers for a post towards the end of May.

 

The following members of the original team will be participating:

• Melissa "War Witch" Bianco - Lead Development Producer
• Christopher "Back Alley Brawler" Bruce - Senior Animator/VFX Artist
• Floyd "Castle" Grubb - Powers Team
• Tim "Black Scorpion" Sweeney - Powers Team
• Hosun "Black Pebble" Lee - Brand Manager
• Keetsie "Tunnel Rat" Braz da Cunha - VFX Artist
• Kevin "Freitag" Callanan - Community Team
• John "Protean" Hegner - Designer / Writer
• Phil "Synapse" Zeleski - Powers Team
• Stephen "Rockjaw" Reid- EU Community Team
• Sean "Dr. Aeon" McCann  - Designer / Writer
• "GhostRaptor" - EU Community Team
• C.W. "Pohsyb" Bennett - Programmer
• "TheOcho" - Community Team
• "JLove" - Senior Artist
• "Fireman" (aka Bass_Ackwards) - QA
• "Hero 1" - Designer / Writer
• "Manticore" Designer / Writer
• "Dark Watcher" - Senior Programmer

 

If there's a question you'd like to ask, please reply to this thread with the question and who it's for (it could be everyone, a specific department, or a specific individual). Please note that we can't guarantee every question will get an answer - but if you see a question you'd like to see answered, be sure to emoji react to it so we can prioritise the most popular questions!

 

Only questions are permitted in this thread - anything that isn't a question will be promptly hidden (please use the main Anniversary thread to discuss this event). We will be accepting questions until 11:59PM EDT on Wednesday, May 1st (at which point this thread will automatically be locked).

[RobotLove]

Pepperoni or Pineapple?

[Oubliette_Red]

Great taste or less filling?

[Indystruck]

For everyone: Any memorable things that you wanted to implement but the tech just wasn't there for it?

Edited April 25 by Indystruck

[Starhawk32]

Superdine or fixadine

[Bionic_Flea]

Which one of you is secretly my baby-daddy (or baby-momma)?

 

[Laucianna]

Is there anywhere you would of liked to take the Kheldian storyline before the Battalion gobbled them up 😄 Maybe going to some other planets that Kheldians inhabit like with the Dwarfs and Novas?

Also, is it morally wrong to consume Kheldians? Asking for an enemy ❤️

Edited April 24 by Laucianna

[AlwaysAPrice]

For any of you who've had the time to delve in and explore this and/or other community servers, what's it like to get to experience the game you worked on now strictly as a player, seeing how it's evolved under the direction of some of the very people you used to make it for? Any favorite new stuff or "why didn't we think of that" moments?

[Cherry]

 

"TheOcho"

 

I've been waiting for you! First, it's nice to see you back around and making yourself available for this Q&A—you've been missed!

 

2nd, I'd like to take this opportunity to thank you again for helping me and my crew pull off a massive zone-wide drop ship challenge. It remains, to this day, 1 of the most fun things I've done in the game. Here is a little flashback for you. - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IO8tbKvto1I (we took out 18 ships)

 

 

3rd: Peek at my forum picture. You gave me that title because I was then and am still now obsessed with this game developing a Trick Yoyo power set. I'm sure you recall all the annoying times I asked you about it, talked about it, and posted about it.. you finally relented and promised me you'd make sure I had it by issue 34. I want you to know I'm still holding you to that promise! You still have some time, and I'm still available to consult with you about ideas.

 

4th: In your opinion, was Champion server *really* the drama server?  

Edited April 24 by Cherry
drop ship count

[Habla]

This question goes specifically for the Designer / Writer folks!

I often love characters like Manticore, Back-Alley Brawler, Statesman, and other lore characters from the Freedom Phalanx, that said, I usually saw most of the heroes having some small familiarities with other heroes, particularly DC. Was there any intent behind taking inspiration from the Justice League or any of that sort or was it just a coincidence? Did you guys have plans for other heroes that never got to see them or scrapped like maybe a Green Lantern type or Spider-Man-inspired hero? That said I love the Phalanx's stories and the lore behind them!

[Lunar Ronin]

This question is for Phil "Synapse" Zeleski:

 

Howdy, Synapse.  Word is that you intended to either make significant changes to PPM (procs per minute), or scrap the system entirely and come up with some other system for procs.  Unfortunately, sunset happened.  Do you recall what you intended to do with procs?

[Ulysses Dare]

For whoever wants to answer: what have you guys been up to? Still working on video games or did you move on to something else?

[TheImprobableMan]

What are you all doing now? (Edit - looks like Ulysses Dare beat me to this question! No need to answer it twice)

 

Also, bonus question for Floyd, Melissa, and maybe Hero 1 (didn't two people have that moniker?  Not sure which one this is, but I met with Joe Morrissey) -- I went by Liquid on the old forums (name was taken here), and I had an interview that I bombed hilariously for the position that I believe Phil Zeleski wound up getting (and wow did that turn out to be the right choice).  Maybe it will jog your memory that I wore a sport coat, which, according to Matt Miller, was a first for the building.  Anyway, after failing to recognize the doorbell as a doorbell, I yanked on the door hard enough to get it open, and later found out it was supposedly locked -- did I break the door lock?

Edited April 24 by TheImprobableMan

[Monos King]

Thanks a lot for partaking in this, amazingly cool. I have a few.

 

1) Some gods are actually incarnates and some incarnates are gods. For the ones that aren't, how did they come to be, and what were other planets gods like? 

 

2) Was the team opposed to creating more power sets with a distinctly magical or technological theme? What were upcoming powersets going to look like, theme and mechanics wise?

 

3) I have a theory as to who killed Merulina that makes good sense. Did you guys ever come up with an answer internally? If so...who?

[Greycat]

First, welcome, long time no see and thank you *ever* so much for this. I think it's obvious you guys (and the rest of the staff that was there, from beginning to end) can be proud of what you made and the community you fostered that ... did *everything* to make this still live like it does now. 🙂

 

Hopefully what you've been up to since lives up to that 🙂

 

OK, questions and things....

 

1. Incarnates. I know they were initially mentioned *way* back when as EATs, and became the system we ended up with. It always felt... a little tacked on, to me, as it was. So, three questions related to that... *was* it kind of tacked on, at what point (if anyone recalls) was it shifted from "EAT somewhere in the way back burners" to "post-50 power and leveling system," and if you'd been given the go-ahead and funding for a COH 2, would you have created a similar system that meshed more into the game?

 

2. The never-implemented EATs. (Coralax, Blood of the Black Stream, Incarnates, Avilians.) Was there any more of a foundation somewhere in the back of folks minds for their backstories and what they would be like from a lore and player-accessible-AT perspective, or did they pretty much stay "It's an idea?" And/or - since we obviously got Coralax in game as an enemy group, so I suppose with that specifically - was getting them in the game as NPCs adding to or taking away from the chance of having them as EATs? (IE, when they came up with COV, was the Coralax EAT brought back up as "OK, we should work on that too" or "OK, they're in the game, that does everything we really wanted to explore with them" - or was there some other issue, such as "how do we deal with an underwater set of races" with them and the Virtea, that prevented them from becoming an AT?

 

3. Other than the moon 🙂 were there any ideas for expanding the COH world out into other locations - Egypt (yes, still thinking of BotBS,) South America, Antarctica (secret villain lairs!) , Cardiff - or would that have been something that, if done, would have been more of a COH 2 thing - or was it thought of at all?

[alembic]

1. What's the one mechanic, story line, enemy, etc... that you wanted to see in the game, but couldn't for whatever reason (unpopular, infeasible, didn't get to it)?
2. What's the thing you're most proud of achieving re: CoH/V?
3. What's the thing you wish never landed in CoH/V?
4. Favourite enemy?

Thanks so much for making such an awesome game, and best of luck in your future endeavors!!

 

[Gadzookery]

1. Do any of you keep up with Superhero media these days? Especially since after CoH's closure, there was definitely a big Superhero movie boom.

2. How far along WAS CoH 2 before sunset? Was it just a maybe one day kinda thing? Was it greenlit? Was anything done for it?

Edited April 24 by Gadzookery

[PresidentDSG]

Would you rather fight a horse-sized duck or 100 duck-sized horses?

 

Okay, actual question:

 

For anyone who's interested in answering, be it gameplay, story, etc: What parts of Homecoming's development of City of Heroes do you approve of? Which do you not, or would do differently if it was you in charge?

Edited April 25 by PresidentDSG

[Dark Bladed]

To whoever wants to answer:

With the benefit of hindsight, what is one thing that you wish you had done differently? Whether expanding upon something for the release, changing the implementation, outright not adding in something, whatever the case may be.

[QrafterCH]

Spoiler

Why was Statesman chosen to be killed?

Spoilers for Who Will Die, if anyone hasn't played that arc yet.

[Lt Australia]

Given the state of MMO today, do you have opinions on why CoX is such a unique game after 20 years? Even other games in the superhero genre seemed to be either a reskin of another MMO (stats boosts in costume parts *shudder*) or generally missing the point. IMHO no game reached the synergy of flexibility, game play and player interaction. Not to say it's perfect, but modern games don't have the same draw for me as CoH did and does

[strix_]

Are there any fun ideas (that the dev team can talk about, of course) that were kicked around for the various CoH sequel/successor pitches we've learned about over the years? Did any concepts from the early pitches get repurposed for CoH content in the later years that the game was live?

Edited April 24 by strix_

[DemonSeed]

1. I'm curious what any of your thoughts are on the Advanced Content and the implementation of different versions of the same content particularly for the difficulty. It's my personal favorite additions.

 

2. Building on that question, on the off chance any of you guys actually sneak around on homecoming what's your favorite addition they've made?

 

3. To any of the writers: What exactly are the Angels in night ward or who are they related to. Theory crafting (by someone else) in the lore discord leads me to believe they work for a higher power we never got the chance to properly see. Or maybe even agents of the old Well.

Edited April 24 by DemonSeed
Fix

[Glacier Peak]

To any whomever may be willingly to answer:

 

How has the video game industry changed for you as a professional since City of Heroes was launched?

 

Edited April 24 by Glacier Peak

[FutureTails21]

To Castle, Black Scorpion, Synapse, or anyone on the original the Original City of Heroes Team:

 

What were the plans for the rest of the Incarnate powers? (Genesis, Mind, Vitae and Omega)

 

And to everyone else: are there any plans to help development with the Homecoming team?