20th Anniversary Q&A - Question Submission Thread

[rolandgrey]

This is for anybody who wishes to chime in.

 

Were there any arcs or plotlines you felt didn't land as well as intended?

[AlexEquinox]

1.) So far, we've only been told about two confirmed Ascended Incarnates - DJ Zero and Rularuu (with Prae Hami getting close). Are there other Ascended we've met, or just the two?

2.) What's DJ Zero's story? How did he ascend? Is he the Space Incarnate to Mender Silos' Time Incarnate?

3.) Why is Praetorian Hami's/DE's appearance so different from Primal's? Is it simply that he's evolved further/stronger? Related to an earlier/different discovery of DE? My theory was that Hami ate Praetorian Mot while he slept and took on some of the physical characteristics.

4.) Would Praetorian Hami become Ascended if he devoured Tyrant or fused with Primal Hami?

5.) What are the differences between the different demons, ghosts, and shadows across CoX? Do they all come from the Netherworld? Different levels of Hell?

6.) Piggybacking off of the angel questions already asked by others: both Gabriel and Michael appearing as Dimensionless, does that mean 'God' was going to be the Primordial they served?

7.) As far as I'm aware, Praetoria's location on Earth was never confirmed, but there does seem to be a couple of in-game assets that point to it being in Louisiana. Is that accurate?

Edited April 26 by AlexEquinox

[CraterLabs]

For Black Pebble: when it came to pushing City of Heroes as a "brand", what aspects of the franchise were being leveraged the most? Statesman was definitely the "face" of the game even after the Who Will Die? arc made it a little weird for him to be around, but were there other elements being considered for pushing as the vibe of the game?

 

Would we have gotten a Clockwork Plushy before a Hamidon Plushie?

[Gauge]

What is your favorite music genre/style or favorite band? If you have an ingame character/nickname what is their favorite music/style?

[Chuckers]

For anyone who wishes to answer...

What was your favorite bug? I remember the desk with a million hit points. I heard of the filing cabinet that when clicked on, ran away. Or the location in KR that collected NPCs? (later fixed and given a plaque.) I'm sure there were others...

[The Caretaker]

No questions. I'm just hopeful that you've engaged in some of our content and we're making you proud! It's been an honor.

[FatedTitan]

Hey everyone! Y’all probably don’t remember Mesmorizer from Champion server, but I remember so many of you! I looked forward to getting on daily after school and escaping a very lonely time in middle and early high school. And while I eventually stepped away from the game to focus on making real life friends, the game y’all made really helped me grow as a person and experience something incredible I never thought possible. I still remember my first time logging into Atlas Park and being stunned that something like this could be real. So thank you for creating something so special to me. It’s the reason I ended up coming back (in a healthier way) and enjoying it even to this day.

 

As for my question, I’m just wondering if, I don’t know, let’s say Statesman called you up and said “I got a call and they want us to make City of Heroes 2”, would you join in? 
 

I’m honestly surprised NCSoft hasn’t done this already, but I guess admitting poor decisions isn’t in their DNA.

[CraterLabs]

To the design team:

 

It feels like the Rogue Isles has a specific design where each major island has an Arachnos Marshall there to keep an eye on things, and then a Governor to run things, and the Governor always feels like they fit into a certain "villain archetype" that superheroes might fight without being a straightforward supervillain. Mob boss(es) in Port Oakes, a mad scientist in Cap au Diable, a human rights violating businessman in Sharkhead, and a Spymaster in Grandville are the easy to spot options. Was this intentional, or did it just happen this way? Is Marshall Blitz supposed to be an intentional subversion since he murdered the governor making him both the Arachnos agent and also the villain archetype (paranoid warmongering ruler of an island that has nukes)? And is there a full list of who the governors and marshals are, because you've really gotta go digging to find references to 'em; I think the Marshall of Sharkhead is mentioned maaaaaybe once in one of Operative Vargas' missions? And who was the governor of Mercy Island, I've heard some people swear that it was supposed to be the head of the R.I.P. and others swear that it's supposed to actually be Ghost Widow herself, but I've not found any documentation to support those either way.

 

To Castle, Black Scorpion, and Synapse (and any other "Powers" people):

 

For people interested in game design, a lot of people point out that you don't actually want a perfectly balanced game, because perfect balance stops being fun. But we also kind of intuitively know that you still want to shoot for a "balanced level of imbalance". So for designing powers in City of Heroes (or maybe even other games) is there a certain benchmark you use as a general guide for "the right level of overpowered" when working on a power conceptually before you push it to beta testing? (And on that note: to what degree should a power be built around the "fantasy" (this is the Grenade power set), and to what degree should it be built around the "mechanics" (this is the Knockbacks And Fire Damage set)?

[FreeportDocks]

1. Did the team take any inspiration from 1930s Pulp Era Heroism? (The Shadow, Doc Savage, The Phantom etc.)
2. Did any of the original assets/project files for the trailers/promotional art survive? As I think the community would have a lot of fun remixing those if they weren't lost & received proper permission.

[Getaways]

I always loved the hero group W.I.S.D.O.M. and loved seeing Foreshadow and Mirror spirit added to the game.  Why did Spark Blade and Rose Star never make it into the game?  Was there ever plans for delusion inc the company that creates gadgets like rocket packs and rose star’s gadgets to have a more prominent role in the game?

[Trickshooter]

omg I miss you guys so much! 😭

 

For the writers: I’ve had this theory that Praetorian Vanessa Devore is in Mother Mayhem’s original body, that’s why Tilman takes Aurora’s body and why P-Vanessa looks like a Carnie version of Sister Psyche. Was that ever the intention?

 

For the powers team: Hi guys! Sorry I was so annoying, I just really loved Defenders, but speaking of… did you ever have any plans or ideas on how you hoped to address some of the underperforming sets like TA, FF and Sonic? I can’t really say ‘Buff TA!’ anymore, but I’ve always been curious. P.S. have you checked out my Telepathy powerset suggestion? Jk! Unless… 👀 You guys were the best, thank you for tolerating us!

 

For JLove!: What costume stuff was your favorite to make, and did you ever create things that ended up never making it in to the game?

 

I'm not sure who this one is for, but: What ever happened to going to the moon? Those little spaceship/rocket easter eggs were on the map for so many issues!

Edited May 1 by Trickshooter
more questions

[Magairlín]

Where are the Rogue Isles? The official game material is vague; I have my headcanon but i was wondering if you had ever nailed down a specific area.

[GM Impervium]

More for the Community Team members, but devs can chime in, too: What was your favorite, or most memorable, interaction with a player or group of players?

[Ridiculous Girl]

i want to know if any have been secretly playing on HC servers, recreating their original toons, only to have GM Crumpet generic them... 😁

[Herotu]

If you could remember any coding tricks or behind the scenes engine shenanigans that the current developers might benefit from, would you?

Do you currently develop Homecoming?

Would you like to?

[BlackSpectre]

First, the love and warmth I feel for the game, since I first began playing it in 2005, is directly the result of the original team’s efforts, and I am sincerely… grateful. 
 

I’m not certain who these questions should be directed to… maybe the powers team?  Everyone?

THE AGGRO CAP

In my view, one of the few flaws in COH’s game design is the ability for tanks to become invulnerable to nearly all attacks, no matter how many critters attack. This poses some problems for game balance, especially when their ability to pull infinite aggro ends up being an unintended exploit. The original solution during live was to slap a bandaid on the problem called “the aggro cap” which to me seems more like a temporary fix than a long term solution. What is your take on the fundamental causes that prompted the implementation of the aggro cap, and what would be some possible ways to address this problem today in a more balanced, integrated, and long term solution?

 

KEYBINDS?

Are there any keybind commands that you would have loved to see implemented but weren’t? Or what are some new keybind commands that you would love to see in the game today? Also, can you share any interesting stories you have about keybinds and the keybind system back in the day?

[shortguy on indom]

• How about a new story arc collaboration?

[Herotu]

What did newer games do that you wish you could have put into City of Heroes?

 

[-Kobi-]

How do you explain the excitement and continued interest of players for this game, which celebrates its 20th anniversary this year?

Could you predict this popularity at the time?

Edited April 27 by -Kobi-

[John Phaser]

For writers, EU community team and War Witch 😄 :

 

Some of us were very disapointed when the end of european localisations came. Consequently, most player were not able anymore to appreciate this game as before. Theses translations (which represent many hours of work, I guess) helped us to understand the fantastic CoHverse across the borders.

 

For players who are trying to make localisation possible again, could you tell us if this work is totally lost ?

 

About translation, how the work was organized between the developpement team and translators ? Thank you.

Edited April 28 by John Phaser
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[jkwak]

Who would win in a fight Statesman or 100 lions?

[Solas67]

To Melissa "War Witch" Bianco:

 

I used to (and am now again) playing Green Taipan....many years ago now I made you and the lovely player of Sister Flame custom action figures (shown here) way bac. I even have the letter in a document form expressing how much of a lifesaver the game was for me then, and how such a fond welcoming back it's been to play again.

Two part question if you'll indulge me: did you wind up hanging onto the custom I made for you? And what's your personal headcanon you'd like to see for War Witch today?

I don't know if Sister Flame has returned here, it'd be great if you caught up again.


/salute

 

 

 

 

[TotalCowage]

Question: City of Heroes came at a junction in MMO game design, between the Sandbox earlier titles like Ultima Online, and the later Theme Park MMOs like World of Warcraft; Were any of the emerging issues of Sandboxes, such as player griefing or problematic content, in your mind when designing CoH, or was it coincidental? Later you went back and added player freedom in again via the Mission Architect. Did it lead to any of the aforementioned issues?

Also; Have you played the awesome MA arc "Apocalypse Cow", and can you think of any new cow puns I could squeeze into it...? I mean, that the author, ahem ahem, might think is a pun that aurochs. I mean rocks. Thank moo. I mean, you.

[SakuraFrost]

For everyone

 

1. How do you feel about AE and fire farming? 
2. How would you have liked to see the Mastermind AT progress in terms of customization and powers?

3. What opinions do you have on the new Symphony & Arsenal controller power sets?

4. What is most important advice you’d give to the Homecoming team?

5. If you were to create a character right now, which AT and power sets would you pick and why?

[syntaxerror37]

Thanks for bringing the game to life.  It's not just one of the best MMOs ever, but a great game in every other aspect.  

Were there any lore "dead ends" that bothered you and you always wanted to expand/retcon but never got around to?

 

In the RWZ arcs, was the fact that the longbow commander Wilhelmina M. Detrick's initials worked out to "WMD" (weapon of mass destruction) a coincidence or on purpose?

 

Between the Alpha slot and the next 4 incarnate slots; was the shift from incarnate shards to threads specifically because you knew people were farming them like crazy, or for other internal reasons?

 

Not a question, but I just want to say if anyone of you is responsible for the "frankengun" design for AR, I always loved it and it was a lot of fun to recreate it for the Halloween contest back in'07.  When I brought it to cons everyone wanted to hold it and get pictures with it.