What would you do if you were a DEV?! (Fun Ideas Talks)

[Water]

Give EVERYBODY a ban hammer and sit back and watch.

[Starhammer]

ack, didn't edit this in in time...

If at all possible, I'd find a way to increase the scaling range of Female arms/shoulders. The inability to give female forms bodybuilder arms has annoyed me for 20+ years. #MuscleBarbie

[Healix]

[chuckv3]

Add a simple decision-tree structure to the dialogs in AE allowing branching and looping. It would be pretty simple to implement. First, allow up to 50 dialogs and 10 missions. The player might not need to complete or answer them all to get to the conclusion. Assign unique names as identifiers for each mission and dialog. Let each dialogue choice or mission outcome (fail versus success) proceed to a specific name (another dialog or mission).

 

I actually wrote an entire web site and database to allow this, but the tie-in was restricted to "go run this AE mission and type in the result code here to proceed". A more natural integration could be built into the game client pretty easily.

Edited April 2 by chuckv3

[chuckv3]

And how about allowing the FULLY FUNCTIONAL tailor (those that allow size changes) in bases.

[Scarlet Shocker]

Has anyone said

 

City of Heroes 2

 

yet?

 

(sadly I couldn't find the official font but I'm surprised it's not in the font options in the forum because it's not restricted)

[biostem]

5 minutes ago, Scarlet Shocker said:

City of Heroes 2

Electric Boogaloo???

[twozerofoxtrot]

1. Better base building tools (has been mentioned but worth repeating)
2. Optic Blast alt customization for Beam rifle (literally all the animations already exist for this, it's just a time/effort thing)
3. Freakshow Customization parts (it's been out there for a years, HC is the official license holder, time to use it)
4. Super Strength for Blasters (my meme dream)

[TheMoneyMaker]

On 3/31/2025 at 11:58 PM, Greycat said:

Drop the rule of 5 to the rule of 3 instead.

 

Make the Alpha slot power's boost last through any exemping all the way to level 1 as your 'reward' for getting to Incarnate level, and lower (or disable) effects on other Incarnate powers in non-Incarnate content (example: severely dropping the Judgement target cap.)

 

Develop the Blood of the Black Stream, at the *very* least as an enemy group with full storylines from 1-50+ on both sides.

 

Have other Arachnos react to VEATs being around - either positively or negatively, or at the very least comment about them.

 

Develop story arcs and other development for the various hazard zones.

 

I'm not on board with all your changes, but I'd be on board with these.

 

• More lore and content is good, and the Blood of the Black Stream seems like an untapped well.
• I'd love to see more content regarding hazard zones, whether something huge relating to how the zone became a hazard or just some history of the zone from before it became a hazard. Given enough time, I'd love to see some "Echo" variants of hazard zones in which they look pristine as they would have before their fall.
• I'd love to see a faction system where you can instill fear or awe based in how aggressive you are in going after them. Maybe something where you subtract .001 for every minion, .01 for lieutenants, .1 for bosses, 1 for elite bosses, and 5 for AVs, but also adding positive amounts for completing specific missions like maybe completing the ITF adds a bonus to your faction with the Council because you were a thorn in the side of the 5th Column's activities.
  • Effects of positive faction: gain a stealth bonus with regard to enemies in the faction as they "turn a blind eye to you" until you prove yourself a threat.
  • Effects of negative faction: maybe their perception range increases because they're on the look out for you, but maybe if your faction rating is a really high negative it could cause them to react more aggressively or after another marker they suffer a demoralization penalty on their To Hit because you've put the fear into them.

 

[Jacke]

On 4/2/2025 at 2:31 AM, Healix said:

 

"My name is Hans.  And this is my brother Franz.  And this is our sister Heidi.  And we're going to PUMP you UP!"

 

 

[Jacke]

23 hours ago, Scarlet Shocker said:

Has anyone said

 

City of Heroes 2

 

yet?

 

(sadly I couldn't find the official font but I'm surprised it's not in the font options in the forum because it's not restricted)

 

Paragon Studios was thinking about it (did some IP / domain name registrations, I think).  Proposed it to NCsoft.  Turned down.  Later, got Shutdown.

 

Also, I think developing a whole new MMO by the Homecoming team:

• Is outside the scope of the licence they have from NCsoft.
• Is beyond the volunteer time and skills of the team.
  • They can evolve an existing game.
  • But going for new is just a Bridge Too Far (and look up Operation Market-Garden to see what happens then).

 

 

[Scarlet Shocker]

1 hour ago, Jacke said:

 

Paragon Studios was thinking about it (did some IP / domain name registrations, I think).  Proposed it to NCsoft.  Turned down.  Later, got Shutdown.

 

Also, I think developing a whole new MMO by the Homecoming team:

• Is outside the scope of the licence they have from NCsoft.
• Is beyond the volunteer time and skills of the team.
  • They can evolve an existing game.
  • But going for new is just a Bridge Too Far (and look up Operation Market-Garden to see what happens then).

 

 

 

I hope you realise I was being somewhat tongue in cheek. I truthfully wouldn't expect the HC team to even want to go there, given that they are all volunteers and have other lives. None of the successor projects have come close except Ship of Heroes which I'm afraid moves me not at all.

 

I totally take your point about Market Garden. Monty's hubris was epic.

[Jacke]

On 4/3/2025 at 11:36 PM, Scarlet Shocker said:

I totally take your point about Market Garden. Monty's hubris was epic.

 

Market-Garden was just such an unusual move for Field Marshal Montgomery.  He was a deliberate commander and it was a go-for-broke operation.  1944 August into September was such a weird time on the Western Front with the collapse of the German forces in France.  The Airborne troops kept planning for ops that got cancelled because the rapidly moving front overran the drop zones.  Market-Garden was the one that finally executed because the front was stabilising.

 

Monty was involved in the planning (with some interpersonal fireworks).  The weakest thing there was depending on a single logistical axis for a full British Army Corps and 3 landed Airborne Divisions.  Monty had correctly widened the original Overlord invasion front, but that was done in 1943 (I think), while Market-Garden was being planned while forces were in motion and broadening the operation front would have been very hard, especially when the logistical needs of all Allied forces in NW Europe were still coming over the Overlord invasion beaches.  (The stopping of some formations just at the northern side of Antwerp and not pushing north to cut off the north bank of the Scheldt from receiving German reinforcements was tragic.  It would be dealt with later by Canadian troops at much cost.)

EDIT: One point I overlooked is the responsibility of a commander for the forces subordinate to them.  They are ultimately responsible for their successes and failures.  From this, Monty was responsible for the failure of Market-Garden.  What he could have done to improve the planning:

• Encourage planning in reality.  There was too much of assuming since the German forces had collapsed and retreated in August, this would continue well into September.  Careful attention to intelligence would have revealed that the German forces were now regrouping and fortifying their line.  In light of that, the needed rate of advance of 30 Corps to relieve the British 1st Airborne Division north of the Nederrijn before begin overwhelmed was too high.
• Pay attention to intelligence gathered, even if uncertain.  Signs of German armour in the Arnhem area (due to the refitting German SS Panzer 9th and 10th Divisions (who even understrength would be a major factor that helped doom the 1st Airborne Division) was disregarded by some.  Taken seriously, there could have been better selection of equipment to bring in the first drop, including more anti-tank weapons.  Also the presence of elite German Paratroopers in the defences along the Highway if recognised would have warned clearing the route was going to be challenging and slower.
• The objective of British 1st Airborne was to secure the bridges over Nederrijn in Arnhem and nearby.  The drop zones chosen for both the first drop and later reinforcements and resupply were all too far from these objectives.  They could and should have been positioned closer.
• Similarly, the drop zones of the U.S. 82nd Airborne Division were slightly too far from the bridges over the Waal near Nijmegen.  As well, forces were not directed towards those bridges as early as they should have been.  There was a lot of concern about German reinforcements from the east into the forested high ground dominating the area.  This threat didn't actually happen during the battle.  Better pre-op and post-drop reconnaissance and allocation of forces after the first drop would have better show this threat to not be significant as well as move troops towards the Division's objectives sooner.
• And likely more details I can't recall.
• Even with better and more thorough efforts by Monty and the staffs of 1st Allied Airborne Army and 30 Corps before and during the op, it is still likely it would have still been more or less a failure.  But maybe the chance for success could have been improved.

 

EDIT: With the responsibility of command, Monty was at fault for the failure of Market-Garden.  But beyond that, his immediate decisions weren't the ones causing the issues that lead to failure.  But as explained above, he could have also acted to improve the chance of success.

 

I think the one person who can't and shouldn't carry the blame for the failures of Market-Garden was Monty (for other decisions at the time is another matter).  There was pressure to employ the First Allied Airborne Army.  Monty proposed the operation and was deeply involved in the planning, but wasn't directly commanding.  All of the failures in the run up to Sept 17th and the start were done by others, as were those during the operation.  I don't think Monty stepped in when things started coming apart, but there wasn't much anyone could do except what was done by the commanders on the ground, including at the end extracting what troops were north of the Nederrijn that could be ferried overnight.  The salient was held, which was questionable, but the Germans attacked the forces there and were repulsed with heavy casualties.

 

It'll be one of those If-only battles in military history.  The greatest weakest may have not be the bridges but the ground, which is supposed to be a major requirement in reconnaissance and planning.  The ground between the 2 northernmost rivers, the Nederrijn and the Waal (both branches of the Rhine as well as taking in waters from other rivers) is all polder, ground recovered by the Dutch, low lying, and at the time rather boggy.  That made the road between those two rivers a long defile but exposed to observation and fire as the road was elevated.  As much as the bridges, but even moreso, it had to be seized before many opposing troops had a chance to occupy positions.

 

Market-Garden may have been doomed from start.  But if only....

 

 

Edited April 7 by Jacke

[Scarlet Shocker]

You obviously have greater knowledge than me. I kinda stopped after Bluecoat and Epsom and the Normandy breakout through Caen. I went on a field trip through the whole Normandy battle front when I was reading my degree, but that was way back in '98 and I've put that to bed long ago. My main focus was on the Strategic Bombing Campaign, especially the US 8th AAF and their military effectiveness - which inevitably gets compared to the RAF efforts. But that's another story...

 

 

[mechahamham]

On 4/2/2025 at 11:08 PM, twozerofoxtrot said:

Freakshow Customization parts (it's been out there for a years, HC is the official license holder, time to use it)

 

The problem I have with this is that if you spend time really looking at them, the Freakshow parts are nasty and rusty. They're very low-poly-count compared to even the issue 1 costume pieces. I've seen images from other servers where the Freakshow parts are unlocked for players and they look very out of place in my opinion. You have a person wearing a Playstation 3 quality suit and then Playstation 1 quality rusty spikes sticking out of it.

Edited April 4 by mechahamham

[twozerofoxtrot]

5 hours ago, mechahamham said:

they look very out of place in my opinion

 

Don't use them, then? 

 

Seems like a weird take to deny others fun just because you don't want it for yourself. 

 

Personally I don't see the issue:

 

[High_Beam]

35 minutes ago, twozerofoxtrot said:

 

Don't use them, then? 

 

Seems like a weird take to deny others fun just because you don't want it for yourself. 

 

Personally I don't see the issue:

 

Awwww.  Clamor had a daughter with better fashion sense.

[mechahamham]

5 hours ago, twozerofoxtrot said:

Seems like a weird take to deny others fun just because you don't want it for yourself. 

 

Personally I don't see the issue:

 

No, if people *want* to use them, that's reason enough to unlock them.

 

I'm just honestly and genuinely surprised that people want to use them.

[BlackSpectre]

If I were a dev, I would lament that I don’t have an artist to make all my ideas come true… and then go sit in a corner. 

[Starhammer]

3 hours ago, mechahamham said:

 

No, if people *want* to use them, that's reason enough to unlock them.

 

I'm just honestly and genuinely surprised that people want to use them.

Sometimes a piece that looks bad in 80% of other places it can be used looks perfect in a different costume. There's also plenty of high quality pieces that look awful when mixed with certain other pieces, even if they too are high quality.

That said, I would love to see a 3D artist make skins for the Freakshow that represent all that gear when it was shiny and new and stolen fresh form a storehouse rather than sitting in a junkyard or having years of DIY modifications. Mostly that boxy torso piece. We don't quite have any other chest piece that approximates it.

[Scarlet Shocker]

16 hours ago, mechahamham said:

 

The problem I have with this is that if you spend time really looking at them, the Freakshow parts are nasty and rusty. They're very low-poly-count compared to even the issue 1 costume pieces. I've seen images from other servers where the Freakshow parts are unlocked for players and they look very out of place in my opinion. You have a person wearing a Playstation 3 quality suit and then Playstation 1 quality rusty spikes sticking out of it.

 

There's a reason they are called the Freakshow. There's possibly an argument for updating them but then... we'd have to ask for fingers on all character models and stuff that simply may not be possible to do.

 

If you don't want/like, ignore as far as possible. But please - and I'm sincere in this - never assume that something you dislike is universally hated. The whole point of this game is that is has two decades of content and updates and development that mean it's exceptionally well rounded, whilst being imperfect. Your famine is another's feast, and vice versa. Let everyone enjoy what they will.

 

That's the main reason I almost never advocate for stuff to be taken out of the game, even if I personally find it makes my skin crawl. Because this isn't just my game. It belongs to everyone who loves it - and not all bits are loved in equal measure but they all are part of the whole.

[biostem]

2 hours ago, Starhammer said:

That said, I would love to see a 3D artist make skins for the Freakshow that represent all that gear when it was shiny and new and stolen fresh form a storehouse rather than sitting in a junkyard or having years of DIY modifications.

I thought the thing with the Freakshow is that they stole experimental drugs that allowed them to wire themselves up with second-rate or improvised cybernetics, hence why they're weaker to energy damage, since those parts are basically kludged together...

[mechahamham]

14 minutes ago, biostem said:

I thought the thing with the Freakshow is that they stole experimental drugs that allowed them to wire themselves up with second-rate or improvised cybernetics, hence why they're weaker to energy damage, since those parts are basically kludged together...

 

According to the in-game story, most of the stuff they used, including the Excelsior drug, was initially stolen from (or actively clandestinely provided by) Crey. A lot of Freakshow parts are probably supposed to be stripped-down Crey power armor parts. The Freaks then branched out, stealing stuff from the Council and other tech-focused groups. This is the point of the Sister Psyche TF. The various sonic Tanks are using Council robot or Ascendant armor parts.

 

Doc Buzzsaw talks about this a bit in her issue 6 arc. She then goes a step further, kitting out the Freaks with Nictus fragments. The Sneaky Freaks you encounter about this same time are using... Arachnos armor parts? I may be mistaken about that.

 

Later on, we see Freaks with stolen Rikti tech. They *try* to incorporate some Circle Thorns into their cybernetics, but that doesn't really end happily for them.

Edited April 4 by mechahamham

[biostem]

9 minutes ago, mechahamham said:

Later on, we see Freaks with stolen Rikti tech. They *try* to incorporate some Circle Thorns into their cybernetics, but that doesn't really end happily for them.

But I can't imagine that, even if stolen from Crey, Council, or other sources, that they're using those parts "as intended".  Also, none of the parts look like their alleged source groups' tech, so they must be just smashing stuff together and seeing what works, (and if a Freakshow dies mid-transplant, they probably deem them as not strong enough anyway, and just move onto the next "patient")...

Edited April 4 by biostem

[Faelia]

Phantom Army having an option that would randomly choose one of your costumes when the ability is used.