A Question from The Homecoming Team

[Completist]

I love what you guys are doing and have faith that you'll continue to implement awesome stuff. 

 

Before taking it "live" I think you should consider updates and improvements to many of the game's older systems.

• make IO enhancements Attuned by default

As part of a market balance/overhaul, making set IOs inherently Attuned would be much more straightforward than the current system.

• "endgame"/Incarnate unlocks at 15

Encourage players to advance through content by making Incarnates unlockable at a lower level. AE farming would stay viable, but expert players could jumpstart their shard drops by playing story arcs.

I'd also make all PvP zones (and Vanguard recruitment) accessible at 15; Hami/TFs/Story Arcs keep their level requirements, Incarnate trials still locked to 50. Heroes with XP turned off get vet level experience instead. 

• zone critters scale to player tier (rather than level)

Outdoor (i.e. non-instanced) zones would be more evocative if the enemies scaled to player tier instead of player level, similar to how holiday enemies and GM's work.
For example, typical Atlas Park mobs could con +0 to a level 1-4 character, -1 to a level 5-19 character, and so on up to -10 to a level 50 character; a level 1 character running around in Brickstown would face +6 mobs, whereas a level 50 would face -4 mobs, adjusted by their difficulty. Perpendicular rewards could be awarded for defeat badges and completion of appropriate story arcs, giving +1 or more effective rank vs. certain enemy factions. This would also allow easy creation of level 55+ zone content that remains challenging to +3 Incarnates and beyond.

Foes inside instanced missions would remain unchanged.

• automatic web-based character tracker/sharer 

Easily share your character profile, badges (and costumes?) with an integrated web interface.

[Angelxman]

Updates to character customization:

New style sets, new HD faces, hairstyles, costume pieces... Addition of NPCs already existing costume pieces and hairstyles for starters if that is easier.

More options for colors in the palette. Specially in the skin section.

Weapon holsters options as back pack, like dual katanas, shields, bows, swords, axes and so on. Even the options to show the same weapon selected and redraw it in the back when not in use, like some fantasy mmo.

 

New arcs, task forces, new content in general. Facelift and updates to existing old cities. Content for Kallisti Ward.

Graphical updates and optamization if possible.

 

Keep up the good work!

 

[Zapped]

I'd like to see some of the mistakes that were made by Jack Emmert addressed.

 

Namely, rolling back some of the completely unnecessary nerfs that drove the player base away and started the end for the COX franchise. 

 

A good first step would be turning instant healing back into a toggle power, even if it has to be scaled back some. 

 

Regen is now consistently listed as one of the worst secondary scrapper powersets to play. 

 

Behind super reflexes and willpower. 

 

It makes absolutely no sense from a common sense or a comic book standpoint that Electra (Super Reflexes) and Punisher (Willpower) should outperform Wolverine when it comes to healing. 

 

When angry players grilled Emmert about why this change was necessary, he said something along the lines of "I like a hard challenge when I'm playing". 

 

Great for him. 

 

That was addressed later on by being able to change the difficulty level of missions, again making the nerf to IH completely unnecessary. 

 

In a game with as much power customization as this one, there is going to be overlap between archetypes. 

 

Tankers that do more damage than scrappers, scrappers who tank specific tasks better than tanks, defenders who  outperform damage dealers (Moonbeam anyone) and that is not a bad thing. 

 

People get disconnected or leave task force and teams all the time and having another archetype step in and fill that role temporarily can make us feel very heroic. 

 

And that is the point of a game based on superheroes anyway isn't it? 

 

 

 

 

Edited March 7, 2021 by Zapped

[twozerofoxtrot]

On 3/7/2021 at 10:52 AM, Zapped said:

A good first step would be turning instant healing back into a toggle power, even if it has to be scaled back some. 

While I agree with most of your post, (except implying SR is bad on scrappers; it's not) I think a better option might be to lower the recharge so that IH could be made Perma. 

 

Why better?  Currently one of the benefits of IH is that it's not a leach on End, and Regen builds can have great recovery overall. Most people already build for Recharge on Regen in order to get key powers like MoG, Reconstruction, Dull Pain (kinda easy), and Revive (oops!) back off cooldown ASAP. Slashing the cooldown on IH down to about 270~ seconds should make it far more viable and keep it in line with current Regen player build priorities (no scramble to pay a new End tax). It also preserve's Regen's biggest weakness of not being great at taking huge alphas. Balance: maintained.

 

Though, I'd even go a step further and suggest Revive finish all active cooldowns similar to Burnout. This would allow defeated Regen ATs the ability to immediately jam Revive on death, load up toggles during the short grace period, fire off IH, DP, likely Hasten, and if tanking: MoG, and get right back into the fight. This helps keep the theme of the "unkillable" regenerating hero who always comes back for more, while also giving Regen something to help bring it to parity with Willpower, which already has an improved self-rez.

 

While it may seem a little preposterous to suggest a Burnout on a 1:30 recharge (in a best-case) that only requires you to die, melee AT's don't have any cheese powers this could be used to exploit ala Gang War. At best you go MoG > Splat-Revive > MoG > Win, and I personally feel like that's Wolverine in a nutshell.

[plainguy]

Keep the Arch Types if you wish but power customization within them. 

• Energy Blast  can be standard beam from hands or Maybe a beam from the chest.  
• Energy Blast doesn't have to be Energy with some power color customization and different effects. It could be mystical with some swirling ancient text. 
• Energy Blast from a Staff. 

Follow the VEAT build types in which a player has MORE powers to choose from at a level. Basically NOT every AR Device has to be the same at any particular level.  I would love to see 3 good options for each power pick per power pick level.  

• Don't like burst then choose knife toss. 
• Don't like Gun Drone then choose cluster missile

Combining the ability to have different powers for each arch type along with different power customization and power placement on a character. You would have 100s of different options to be unique. 

 

Let me finally say I call it and congrats. 

[Zapped]

On 3/8/2021 at 12:21 AM, twozerofoxtrot said:

While I agree with most of your post, (except implying SR is bad on scrappers; it's not) I think a better option might be to lower the recharge so that IH could be made Perma. 

 

Why better?  Currently one of the benefits of IH is that it's not a leach on End, and Regen builds can have great recovery overall. Most people already build for Recharge on Regen in order to get key powers like MoG, Reconstruction, Dull Pain (kinda easy), and Revive (oops!) back off cooldown ASAP. Slashing the cooldown on IH down to about 270~ seconds should make it far more viable and keep it in line with current Regen player build priorities (no scramble to pay a new End tax). It also preserve's Regen's biggest weakness of not being great at taking huge alphas. Balance: maintained.

 

Though, I'd even go a step further and suggest Revive finish all active cooldowns similar to Burnout. This would allow defeated Regen ATs the ability to immediately jam Revive on death, load up toggles during the short grace period, fire off IH, DP, likely Hasten, and if tanking: MoG, and get right back into the fight. This helps keep the theme of the "unkillable" regenerating hero who always comes back for more, while also giving Regen something to help bring it to parity with Willpower, which already has an improved self-rez.

 

While it may seem a little preposterous to suggest a Burnout on a 1:30 recharge (in a best-case) that only requires you to die, melee AT's don't have any cheese powers this could be used to exploit ala Gang War. At best you go MoG > Splat-Revive > MoG > Win, and I personally feel like that's Wolverine in a nutshell.

Sorry if I gave the impression that I though SR was bad.

 

What I meant to say is that regen is generally considered the worst secondary for scrappers FAR behind SR and WP which are actually highly recommended as scrapper secondaries.

[cotesan]

Hey devs,

as a long time player since ‘05 I miss the days of having to work / level to unlock various powersets, respecs, capes. 
Of course I want all the new content you can make, but have it be something that makes it more of a journey and achievement. 

[Aeroprism]

Probably going to re-quote a lot of people here but here's my take:

 

• New story content.  (New zones are NOT necessary to me, PLENTY to do with what's already there.)
• GM presence.  (Game Master, not Giant Monster). A game like CoH is about immersion so this can take on two aspects:  
  • Controlling undesired behavior AKA: Game police (Names, attitude, trolling etc)
  • Sporadic events (In Everquest, there were a bunch of people called the "Quest troupe" who would take control of NPCs and spawn random mini events.)
• Re-think the difficulty system.  The best part of this game is the hectic action of a 8-man team.  Well, it was, before everyone and their sister became gods. Give us challenge again
• Expand on your cell-shading video feature.  It really makes the game 100 times better, make sure to polish it and fix all little issues, like contact portraits that are missing parts when you activate this system.

 

I won`t join the crowd of "more powersets, more ATs".  I will be very happy if that happens, but there's already plenty to choose from here. I would however love to see fixes for the glitches on what currently exists. When you jump into a group, activate a power and no animation plays, the time you spend wondering "did it go off or not", your chain is pretty much blerg.

 

I really don't care if there is a monthly sub.  This game is mostly for grown adults, I can afford it and if it helps recruit people to improve the game, go for it.

 

And I'm in no hurry.  I will be there to join the crowd when it happens, however long that may take.

[Zapped]

On 3/18/2021 at 7:47 AM, Aeroprism said:

Probably going to re-quote a lot of people here but here's my take:

 

• New story content.  (New zones are NOT necessary to me, PLENTY to do with what's already there.)
• GM presence.  (Game Master, not Giant Monster). A game like CoH is about immersion so this can take on two aspects:  
  • Controlling undesired behavior AKA: Game police (Names, attitude, trolling etc)
  • Sporadic events (In Everquest, there were a bunch of people called the "Quest troupe" who would take control of NPCs and spawn random mini events.)
• Re-think the difficulty system.  The best part of this game is the hectic action of a 8-man team.  Well, it was, before everyone and their sister became gods. Give us challenge again
• Expand on your cell-shading video feature.  It really makes the game 100 times better, make sure to polish it and fix all little issues, like contact portraits that are missing parts when you activate this system.

 

I won`t join the crowd of "more powersets, more ATs".  I will be very happy if that happens, but there's already plenty to choose from here. I would however love to see fixes for the glitches on what currently exists. When you jump into a group, activate a power and no animation plays, the time you spend wondering "did it go off or not", your chain is pretty much blerg.

 

I really don't care if there is a monthly sub.  This game is mostly for grown adults, I can afford it and if it helps recruit people to improve the game, go for it.

 

And I'm in no hurry.  I will be there to join the crowd when it happens, however long that may take.

 

Big fat no please on the cell shading. 

 

It made Champions Online  hideous, hokey looking and unplayable for me. 

 

 

 

 

[Aeroprism]

2 hours ago, Zapped said:

 

Big fat no please on the cell shading. 

 

It made Champions Online  hideous, hokey looking and unplayable for me. 

 

 

 

 

 

This is why the system is optional,  You hate it. I couldn't live without it. We both get what we want.

 

Champions online... now THERE was a game that failed hard.  It looked at everything CoH did correctly and went running the other way, screaming about vegetables.

 

 

[SiliconAria]

Probably the biggest issue I have that prevents me from using the cel shader is its tendency to consider your forearms and calves as different cels from your upper arms and thighs, when using costume pieces that use continuous skin texture in those areas. Sleeveless jackets + bare hands (or cybertech glowy tattoo equivalent), or bridal heels + a skirt, for example. You get this big cel border right below your knee or elbow that just kind of breaks it for me, because those are two models that align textures, and the cel shader can't tell the difference.

 

An option to have only silhouette cel borders without having the cel borders between different models inside the silhouette would be lovely.

 

Edited May 20, 2021 by SiliconAria

[Wiseheart]

Do NOT bring back the subscription model! The donation system allows the player base to democratically participate in the development of the game with you devs, and it gives us a hefty amount of breathing room and space to help y'all develop the game we'd like to play.

 

Oh, and more Incarnate stuff.

[Rejected]

On 9/7/2019 at 8:31 AM, Castrum said:

1) Free. No microtransaction store, no paid expansions, no DLC, no pay to win.

 

2) New content, as dictated by the ability and desire of volunteer developers. Advance the story, make new events, whatever. But nothing that would require anyone to need to require payment for purchase/play.[...]).

 

3) No NC Soft. In as much as is possible, zero input from NC Soft, zero financial backing, no advertising, no control, nothing. [...] They should never have a hand in CoH or control of it in any way ever again. They need to sign away the rights and be done with it.

 

4) Related to the other notes, always and forever keep it community-based. Open and transparent.[...]

 

I marked my many positive reactions to the brilliant wish lists. My first aim is to thank everyone for their constructive efforts.

 

That being said, the premise of the thread is "leading the witness".  Since negotiations have apparently proceeded to this point, I will join  @Castrum in being the messengers of adverse news:

 

I may want nothing from a "licensed" game, given the current state of "IP". The vast majority of agreements with which I am familiar make the licensee almost as subservient as a subsidiary, without the benefits of actually being one. A one way street to the same destination [many descriptions of which would violate forum terms...😉].

 

Supporting the maintenance of this public resource is a justified expense for me. Any 'final sale' arrangement, either for purchase of past or development of future assets will also find my full backing.

 

But I am fighting every day to avoid ever again giving to organizations whose raison d'etre is the highest form of piracy. There are plenty of other toys to enjoy that won't hurt people.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 20, 2021 by RMS33
clarity

[TraumaTrain]

Costumes, costumes, costumes!

 

A second aura.

 

"Weapon" options for powersets. For example: Energy Blast through a rifle instead of from your hands.

 

An additional mask option for mixing and matching.

 

I'd like to see a speed dial on auras to slow the animations down or even speed them up just a twidge.

 

New auras. I'd like an aura of drone widgets floating around my gadgeteer dudes.

Edited May 21, 2021 by TraumaTrain

[Rejolt]

10 hours ago, TraumaTrain said:

Costumes, costumes, costumes!

 

A second aura.

 

"Weapon" options for powersets. For example: Energy Blast through a rifle instead of from your hands.

 

An additional mask option for mixing and matching.

 

I'd like to see a speed dial on auras to slow the animations down or even speed them up just a twidge.

 

New auras. I'd like an aura of drone widgets floating around my gadgeteer dudes.

So, Praetorian police hand blaster gloves? You want the honeycomb effect while they fire? Do you want that with a side of maple bacon berry blast sauce?

 

[kureneko]

Animated Faces is all I ask.  NO MORE DOLL FACES!!! ^_^

[Mezmera]

2 hours ago, kureneko said:

Animated Faces is all I ask.  NO MORE DOLL FACES!!! ^_^

 

This animated enough for ya?

[Dryfter]

Pretty darn happy now, but more power sets and costume options would be nice. And if HC does get licensing rights, I would be GLAD to pay a monthly sub fee, but please, please, PLEASE no microtransactions, loot boxes, etc... Those turn me off in every game I've played that has them.

[zenblack]

@JimmyAs someone who didn't look at this thread until now I was wondering if you could give us a framework of what HC would like if that doesn't cause you problems legally. Things like subscription, microtransactions (please no), pay to win (please no). Not set it stone but maybe things that HC feels is their vision of the game.

[Glacier Peak]

1 hour ago, zenblack said:

@JimmyAs someone who didn't look at this thread until now I was wondering if you could give us a framework of what HC would like if that doesn't cause you problems legally. Things like subscription, microtransactions (please no), pay to win (please no). Not set it stone but maybe things that HC feels is their vision of the game.

 

[Glacier Peak]

Just now, Glacier Peak said:

 

 

[Ry]

The Guardian Archetype that the Rebirth server has, I gave it a try recently and its amazing!

 

So, pretty please, Homecoming!

 

With extra spinkles!

 

❤️

 

P.S. More options for the Weekly Strike Targets, maybe the Ouroboros arcs? Or Signature Story Arcs? 🙂

Edited May 22, 2021 by Ry

[kelika2]

The Cimerorian Oracles outfit for players.

[chi1701]

Keldian buffs!

[kelika2]

21 hours ago, chi1701 said:

Keldian buffs!

they got buffed in like issue 23 or 24 before the shutdown.

 

stop playing human form.