Heroes vs. Villains

[twozerofoxtrot]

I was listening to an old dev interview from one of EverQuest's devs, and this snippet came up. 

Considering how we talk about how Redside can be improved or the agency of Villains from time to time, it piqued my interest and thought it might be worth a share. Link starts at the right place (1:36:00) and you'll know when the relevant discussion is done.
 

For context, the dev being interviewed was going to work on a Hero vs. Villains game from Square, before it was cancelled following the Final Fantasy movie's poor performance at the box office.

[Drakwatch]

I feel like this would be a really fun feature that could be implemented now. There is already a system where completing certain objectives can spawn a giant monster or trigger an invasion event (completing a Mothership raid will cause a Rikti Invasion or Synapse Task Force spawning a Babbage ambush). What if whenever a Villian team completed The Temple of the Waters Strike Force, the Lusca had a chance to attack Independence Port? Or to take it further, completing specific villain missions (team-up teleporter trails?) could affect open-world zones in Paragon City?

 

A few examples I just thought of:

• Villains steal experimental weapons from Vanguard and sell them to Nemesis --> a Nemesis invasion appears in Steel Canyon using special weapons.
• Villains raid a Crey facility, releasing experimental Devouring Earth monsters into the sewers --> the monsters appear in a random city zone and heroes scramble to save citizens.
• Villains assist the Circle of Thorns in raiding a Legacy Chain base --> The Circle successfully summons the Envoy of Shadows and an army of demons to rampage through Founders Falls.

This sort of system would be so fun and would make the game feel like a living world. Villains could fulfill their schemes while heroes act as emergency responders.

[Techwright]

On 8/15/2024 at 11:24 AM, Drakwatch said:

I feel like this would be a really fun feature that could be implemented now. There is already a system where completing certain objectives can spawn a giant monster or trigger an invasion event (completing a Mothership raid will cause a Rikti Invasion or Synapse Task Force spawning a Babbage ambush). What if whenever a Villian team completed The Temple of the Waters Strike Force, the Lusca had a chance to attack Independence Port? Or to take it further, completing specific villain missions (team-up teleporter trails?) could affect open-world zones in Paragon City?

 

A few examples I just thought of:

• Villains steal experimental weapons from Vanguard and sell them to Nemesis --> a Nemesis invasion appears in Steel Canyon using special weapons.
• Villains raid a Crey facility, releasing experimental Devouring Earth monsters into the sewers --> the monsters appear in a random city zone and heroes scramble to save citizens.
• Villains assist the Circle of Thorns in raiding a Legacy Chain base --> The Circle successfully summons the Envoy of Shadows and an army of demons to rampage through Founders Falls.

This sort of system would be so fun and would make the game feel like a living world. Villains could fulfill their schemes while heroes act as emergency responders.

While I like where your thoughts are leading, there's some things that would have to change/take place to make it truly interesting.

 

Temple of the Waters SF triggers Lusca:  the problem is, Lusca is considered dull.  It improved somewhat with the increased rewards, but it used to be that Lusca would sit in IP for hours without challenge.  Even these days, it is far easier to get a league for Adamastor than Lusca.  And Lusca appears on its own already, so a TWSF trigger feels a bit pointless.  Some possible, but by no means exhaustive, thoughts on improvements:

• TWSF triggers a swarm of Luscas.  At least 3, and to a max of all spots Lusca can spawn, but probably somewhere in between.
• TWSF triggers an unusually powerful Lusca with proportionate rewards.
• TWSF triggers Lusca in an unusual spot such as Talos Island, Peregrine Island, or one of the Rogue Islands.
• TWSF triggers Lusca in a PvP zone with proportionate rewards for the added PvP risk.  This would necessitate working out some sort of scoring system to distinguish blue and red participation. 

 

I do like your idea of a trigger event spawning Nemesis with special weapons.  That's exactly the kind of change I'm talking about.

 

The spawning of Devouring Earth or Demons, while unusual, may not be sufficient especially in a random area.  If you've ever noticed on Rikti raids, zombie invasions, and such, only certain zones merit the attention of players.  Rikti invaded Crey's Folly? *Shrug*  I'll just stay clear of CF for a while.   What is needed is some sort of impetus that makes players want to go to the invaded zone to fight.  What that might mean for City of Heroes, I'm not sure, but I can suggest one idea which comes from another NC Soft game that was shelved, Tabula Rasa.  Have special mission givers with notable rewards that only appear (for a time) if an invasion is successfully fought off.  You'll need a measure of success, as currently the invasions are just there for a certain period of time.  Couple of suggested scenarios:

• Invasion X happens in a random zone.  A damage dealt meter (or possibly a casualty meter) appears in the zone.  Any and all players fighting an invader can add to the damage dealt meter.  When the meter fills.  it triggers the reward.  In this case, special mission givers appearing, regardless of whether the invasion is still ongoing or not.
• Invasion X happens in a random zone.  It is a smash-and-grab.  The invaders are trying to take some unusual McGuffin of an artifact from point A where it is placed at the start of the scenario to extraction point B.  If they succeed, it is a loss for the players.  If, after many repeated attempts, they leave in frustration, it is a win for the players, and the reward, the special mission giver, is unlocked.  This scenario is not unlike the clockwork-build-a-Paladin scenario that plays out in Kings Row, the difference being that case has a stationary Mcguffin, the Paladin assembly.  The suggested scenario would have an item that could slowly be moved across a playing field, stopping each bit of the way that the carriers are dropped until it is picked up again.