S.T.A.R.T. vendor Inherent Travel Power that is just a car

[Rigged]

Here's my suggestion, including the mechanics:

 

It's a toggled, unenhanceable Super Speed. It disables/suppresses all powers while in use, like the hoverboard/skiff. It also sets your jump height to zero, because a car cannot jump (but perhaps retain momentum jumping? Not sure how that works on mechanical end). You don a "disguise power" that is just a standard, normal (perhaps random) car you find in most city zones with opaque windows that you cannot see the inside of, because I understand that creating a driving pose/animation is going to be a titanic headache with the ancient engine so please don't bother.

 

It's balanced because the lack of jump would make it conditionally more and less useful than Ninja Run. It might speed up the arrival time on long, flat journeys like getting to Thorn Island, but is that really so bad when we have team mission teleports?

 

I want this for two reasons:

 

1) My Natural-Origin hero should be able to take an Uber. It's 2025 and my real-life self has a superpower that my character does not have. Alternatively, my Natural-Origin Villain should be able to steal one.

2) It would allow us to RP being like Turbo Teen who has the power to turn into a car.

 

Devs, please consider.

 

EDIT: Upon consideration I have realized I would be perfectly happy with a Halloween costume that is a car, as long as I can use Super Speed with it. Please let me be Turbo Teen, devs.

Edited April 9 by Rigged

[Rudra]

Potential problem: fitting a large character the size of a car inside buildings and being able to maneuver, and justifying being able to do that.

 

Proposed fix: Make a Mission Transporter power that calls up a taxi or an Uber that sends the player/party to the mission door.

[biostem]

25 minutes ago, Rigged said:

1) My Natural-Origin hero should be able to take an Uber. It's 2025 and my real-life self has a superpower that my character does not have. Alternatively, my Natural-Origin Villain should be able to steal one.

The date and technology level is kind of vague in-game.  We do not, in fact, have any evidence that there is or should be such a crossover with real-world companies or services.  IMHO, you are more likely to find someone who miniaturized portal technology and offering those services, than regular people providing ride-sharing ones.

 

The problem is, I've played a game where you can acquire and utilize vehicles - Champions Online - and it is a surprisingly uninteresting and un-fun experience, once you actually get to experience it.  Sure, it may fit a narrow, specific concept or certain RP reasons, but in actual implementation?  Not so much...

[Rudra]

Just now, biostem said:

The date and technology level is kind of vague in-game.  We do not, in fact, have any evidence that there is or should be such a crossover with real-world companies or services.  IMHO, you are more likely to find someone who miniaturized portal technology and offering those services, than regular people providing ride-sharing ones.

 

The problem is, I've played a game where you can acquire and utilize vehicles - Champions Online - and it is a surprisingly uninteresting and un-fun experience, once you actually get to experience it.  Sure, it may fit a narrow, specific concept or certain RP reasons, but in actual implementation?  Not so much...

I actually like (one of) the CO vehicles. (The rare grav bike that everyone strips of its weapons that are the best vehicle weapons in the game before putting the vehicle on the auction house for sale.) CO did one thing right with their vehicles though, they can't be used on instance maps. Which our travel powers in CoX can. (It also led to the problem of massive instanced outdoor maps not letting players use their vehicles despite technically being outside.)

[biostem]

2 minutes ago, Rudra said:

I actually like (one of) the CO vehicles. (The rare grav bike that everyone strips of its weapons that are the best vehicle weapons in the game before putting the vehicle on the auction house for sale.) CO did one thing right with their vehicles though, they can't be used on instance maps. Which our travel powers in CoX can. (It also led to the problem of massive instanced outdoor maps not letting players use their vehicles despite technically being outside.)

The ones where you can actually see your character are pretty neat, I'll give you that, but the implementation is still very haphazard, IMO.  The idea of a car for TT isn't a bad one - the player could explain it away in many different ways, but it still makes less sense than a Longbow or Arachnos VTOL craft...

[Rudra]

1 minute ago, biostem said:

The ones where you can actually see your character are pretty neat, I'll give you that, but the implementation is still very haphazard, IMO.  The idea of a car for TT isn't a bad one - the player could explain it away in many different ways, but it still makes less sense than a Longbow or Arachnos VTOL craft...

Especially for getting around zones like the Shadow Shard.

[WanderingAries]

Half-serious alternative suggestion. Have a not-so iconic car, but the NPC is the driver telling it not to start....  >.>

 

 

[TheMoneyMaker]

3 hours ago, biostem said:

The ones where you can actually see your character are pretty neat, I'll give you that, but the implementation is still very haphazard, IMO.  The idea of a car for TT isn't a bad one - the player could explain it away in many different ways, but it still makes less sense than a Longbow or Arachnos VTOL craft...

Ghost/Magic car

Futuristic flying car

Tardis in disguise as a car

Teleporting car

Impossible physics car

 

Lots of explanations for how a car can drop you off in places it wouldn't make sense for normal cars to show up.

[biostem]

1 minute ago, TheMoneyMaker said:

Lots of explanations for how a car can drop you off in places it wouldn't make sense for normal cars to show up.

Sure.  All of which make less sense than simply calling upon a VTOL aircraft.  Notice that I never fully dismissed the idea...

[TheMoneyMaker]

Just now, biostem said:

Sure.  All of which make less sense than simply calling upon a VTOL aircraft.  Notice that I never fully dismissed the idea...

Nothing needs to make sense. Comic book logic means all things are possible with the right explanation behind.....or even none at all.

[Wavicle]

Cars can't jump? Better tell the Dukes of Hazzard!

[TheMoneyMaker]

Now to address the original question:  vehicles were brought up to the original devs on live, and I believe the main reason we never got anything beyond jetpacks, skiffs, surfboards, and magic carpets is the way movement works in the game engine, such as strafing.  Imagine a car is driving down the road and instead of turning, it simple goes left or right onto a side street by moving sideways.  Or a parked vehicle starts spinning 360 degrees in place.  Or probably other physics defying maneuvers.

 

I guess you could disable strafing along with jumping, but the more you take away to achieve realism, the more you are hindering what's supposed to be providing better transportation than running along on your own power.  That was the reason I remember them giving against cars or motorcycles in open discussion, limiting us to just flying contraptions.

[BassAckwards]

I'm not inherently opposed to the idea. Still, I just can't imagine there is any way for the devs to make this realistic without it looking absolutely god-awful for the several reasons mentioned above. Cars strafing, driving up stairs, cars falling off the top of Atlas statue. It would be funny for about 5 minutes, but then it would be tiresome watching people drive over newbies leveling at Ms. Liberty.

 

It would likely be used more for griefing (Not that the possibility of griefing means we can't entertain an idea) than actual RP or any other legitimate purpose. On top of the visual oddities this would create I don't think this is worth the effort honestly.

Edited April 8 by BassAckwards

[FrozenSolid]

Having a car and/or bike that's usable outdoors is definitely something I wouldn't mind having.

Just have it work as a super speed that has the "Only Affects Self" state and reduce jump height by like 9001%.

[Skyhawke]

It's all fun and games til someone goes off a cliff in Faultline. 

 

 

[UltraAlt]

12 hours ago, Rigged said:

1) My Natural-Origin hero should be able to take an Uber.

 

[tidge]

[TheMoneyMaker]

1 hour ago, UltraAlt said:

 

I thought this looked familiar.

[WanderingAries]

22 hours ago, Wavicle said:

Cars can't jump? Better tell the Dukes of Hazzard!

 

 

[Rigged]

21 hours ago, UltraAlt said:

 

 

I have no objection to a TT car customization, but I have to admit the real, actual reason I am making this suggestion is because I want to be able to turn into a car. I would accept a Halloween costume power buyable for prismatic aether that I can use Super Speed with.

[TheMoneyMaker]

1 hour ago, Rigged said:

 

I have no objection to a TT car customization, but I have to admit the real, actual reason I am making this suggestion is because I want to be able to turn into a car. I would accept a Halloween costume power buyable for prismatic aether that I can use Super Speed with.

That'll never happen due to limitations on how things move in the game. I'm sure they could make a temp power that makes you look like a car, but your movement wouldn't be altered in this form, which means you as a car could jump, strafe sideways, spin 360, drive up stairs, etc. There's also terrain to consider. We have cars on city streets because they follow a fairly flat path of smooth surface. When you start driving up stairs, over rough terrain, too close to objects that will clip through the body of the car, etc.....it will look like it doesn't fit into the game environment. It could be everything you dream of and you'd be willing to overlook these flaws, but they're not going to release something that doesn't look right. The car request was made often back when the game was Live and they had paid developers looking for all kinds of ways to incorporate stuff that players wanted. They said it couldn't be done. Now try to imagine a team of volunteer developers who have other jobs and contribute to what we have now with fewer resources and support.

 

This just isn't the game for player cars.  It was disappointing even back in the old days.  I'm sure we all some degree of Batmobile-style desires.

[UltraAlt]

2 hours ago, Rigged said:

I want to be able to turn into a car.

 

Yeah, I don't think that's going to happen for multiple reasons.

That's why I fell back to my post about customizing TT which you also brought up ... which I think is far more likely.

[UltraAlt]

1 hour ago, TheMoneyMaker said:

I'm sure we all some degree of Batmobile-style desires.

 

3 hours ago, Rigged said:

I want to be able to turn into a car.

 

This seems to be more toward Autobots (Transformers) to me.

 

Edited April 9 by UltraAlt

[TheMoneyMaker]

3 hours ago, UltraAlt said:

 

 

This seems to be more toward Autobots (Transformers) to me.

 

Right, this does.  But we all have car dreams of our own, too.

 

And none of them will be fulfilled by this game.  😟

[UltraAlt]

1 hour ago, TheMoneyMaker said:

Right, this does.  But we all have car dreams of our own, too.