A Question from The Homecoming Team

[Takel]

I'm going to join the "don't reset progress" and "new content" bandwagons myself. I want to wreck the True Rikti with the power of storms, dammit!

[garthander]

My dad and I have been playing since homecoming has launched (and we played from about 2005 till shutdown off and on) but one thing that we talked about recently is that we would like to see new content come out, which now would be a good time, with a fresh start to kind of revamp the way things are done. You could do it as a expansion like update, maybe this expansion adds onto the existing lore of Paragon City or even takes us to another place in the multiverse, but this could allow new zones to be added and having story lines with each, these story lines can lead up to a zone task force that is meant to be done with 8 people, and then overall throughout said part of expansion you can add trials that are meant to be done with leagues.

 

Another thought we had was updating the models, These could be toggled in the options so that if your PC cant handle it then you still can play. Right now the models are starting to show their age, don't get me wrong the game looks great and aged well from 2004 but polygons... I understand this is a lot of work and that it might not even be possible with the current tools you are working with. But even an update to the current zones like Atlas got to help make it look newer.

 

New Archetypes and Powersets, you could do this the way the Kheldians and Arachnos were added and require something to be completed whether its just something from a new Trial or maybe even sticking it onto lvl 50 like they originally were, or even just BAM immediate access, however I believe there would be more fulfillment in unlocking the archetype rather than just given it, maybe its a mission arc that explains some lore for the archetype or whatever, depending on if the archetype is very specific like the Kheldians and Arachnos are. Powersets however could be released without unlocking. 

 

Earlier I mentioned new zones all together and I feel like I could go more in depth, now i'm talking like maybe pumping out 4 or 5 connected zones which is why i feel like a multiverse is a better option that just more zones in Paragon City or they could even be an entirely new city that could lay the groundwork for Homecomings own content, which would be chosen on character creation like Hero, Villains, and Praetorians. the new zones could be meant to level the player up to 50 or could be meant as only endgame content, or both, that is entirely up to you guys.

 

One thing that I know keeps some people playing MMORPGs other than alts would be collections, maybe add a vanity pet system like WoW has that players can collect (this would require an entirely new menu as we wouldnt want to clutter the players powers and when they do a respec - their trays, first it could be small just like 20 or so vanity pets to collect including the ones that currently are in the game. Mounts arent really a thing in CoH but I guess new forms of travel powers could be collected for the tailor such as a blur trail instead of the cloud under our feet for superspeed. 

 

More Endgame content, right now it feels like, and maybe im just blind to it, but once you hit 50 really all you got to do with that toon besides making an alt would be to find a build that works, get all your enhancements and then doing incarnates which with veteran levels that grind is easier than ever and isnt hard to complete.

 

Idk if it would be wise to do this but maybe finding more rewards to add to vet levels to entice people to still use them, even some of the options for collections i talked about above could be nice rewards for certain vet levels.

 

Im sure these wouldnt be everyones cup of tea and thats fine but these are some of the things Id like to see added to the game.

[Tachstar]

You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one.  Therefore!

 

New power sets including but not limited to Onion Armor, Trout Blast, and Spice Control.

 

Galaxy City restored as a starting zone. 

 

Dark Astoria restored (maybe have it so that clicking the gate gives you the option to go to the original zone or the newfangled thing -- or maybe it could be the original until a character goes all Incarnate). 

 

More costume options including a big (but not too big) round/square/oval belt buckle upon which may be displayed various emblems including smiley and frowny faces, and some obviously not real wings that are just fashion statements and don't flap.  Ahem.  Among other things.

 

Endgame PVE stuff for those who don't want to be cosmic demigods.  For the friendly neighborhood types.  Hey!  Maybe a friendly neighborhood to watch over (kinda like, ya know, housing or base stuff, but big and zone-y with missions and events and stuff.)

 

Customizable sidekick pets (or power set).

 

Separation of mastermind pets and attack powers so there can be masterminds that have whip attacks and ninja pets or bow attacks and demon pets or whatever.  Mix and match.  New pets, maybe?  How hard would it be to do Solid Gold Dancers? 

 

Mostly, though, just keep on doing what you're doing.  Thanks!

[edburke63]

I'd like to see the game continue exactly as it is, with no server wipes or character loss, and new content created going forward. You built up a lot of credibility with older players with your approach to running the game and it rekindled my old fire for COH, which I thank you for, but I'm not sure that I would have the heart to start from scratch yet again.

 

I also wouldn't mind seeing the current level structure remain the same to Level 50, and then an entirely new level system for Veteran that allows for all of the newer content to be placed there, as far as zones and challenges go. That way, the old COH experience could be preserved while a new age could begin for the Homecoming team, and the work that players did to get their characters loaded up properly with Enhancements and such could be enjoyed through an entirely new "second round" for those characters. That system would emulate a comic superhero's journey from newcomer to established stalwart.

[PopeUrban]

My DREAM list:

 

Engage with the community for creation of new content to democratize the further development of new side content (ex. let people use architect to prototype missions, and engage core level building tools)

 

Make some attempt to collab with Posi and whoever from the old team is interested to realize their planned arcs in some way.

 

Don't worry too much about timeframe for updates I'd rather have infrequent updates and a healthy game than burnout developers and a thing teetering on financial ruin.

 

Retool and reintroduce (optional) base raiding as a PvE activity with optional PvP mode. Allow SGs to select which type of raids or none they want to be involved in.

SGs should be able to declare a cosmetic morality for this purpose, used only if you really want to RP a heroic organization and only raid villains for instance.

PvE Activity using architect tools to create base staff and the mayhem mission logic of a timed mission with bonuses for blowing up debris. Your decorative base parts count as debris, time bonus calculated via percentage of room destroyed (automatic 100% bonus if rooms are devoid of deco, this logic is to prevent having more/less deco from being something people game for time denial)

Use pbaoe special damage to prevent the old cheese of walling stuff of with bookshelves by having any destroyed thing also destroy other debris in a radius around it. In this way anything deco you need to destroy will have the same median HP for a 'section" of the room regardless of how it is built.

I miss base raiding a lot and I think having a PvE version with these tweaks would really add it back in a fun way that engages much more of the community while using the same tools to bring back the old PvP raiding. Free base building should make base raiding far more accessible and based upon creativity/design rather than wealth.

As a side note the core tech (marrying architect tools with SG bases) would necessitate spawning logic that may allow dynamic use of SG bases as content space in new mission computer arcs (imagine a quest which culminates in an AV assaulting your SG base)

 

A mastermind Cyborg set with melee, ranged, and self destructive clones of my character.

More EPPs. All the rage is incarnate powers but honestly I think having some further EPPS would be a great content drop that's compelling for a much larger number of players.

My REALISTIC list:

 

Keep it free to play.

 

Don't continue running on donations. Its only ever one cycle away from dead servers. Don't be afraid to make some money for the work you do. Monetize us ethically and we'd be happy to pay you. Not to mention it would be a great example to NCsoft and the industry that not being a total asshat can stiff make money.

 

Monetize xp boosters, new emotes, alternate powerset animations, new costume packs. These were OK microtransactions.

Do not monetize power sets, access to incarnate abilities, or other gameplay effecting features. These were the microtransactions/changes that made me quit the game.

Sell microtransactions ethically, no loot boxes, allow preview functions before purchase (allow selecting all parts in costume designer, logic check before applying if parts are owned)

Update as frequently as the budget/time allows, no more no less.

Enjoy running a massive corporate mmo like a passion project, you've earned it, and we thank you.

Edited September 10, 2019 by PopeUrban

[Rylas]

Seen a lot of great answers in here. Personally, I'd love to see what always made this the most fun game for me. More customization! More costume pieces. More color options. More hair styles. If it doesn't come around, I can live. But my favorite mini-game in CoH is costume design. 

 

Also, I get why they didn't allow for some colors for things like Ice Armor. But can we just move past those kinds of worries. The color selection for those sets are so.... *gags* Bland. Drab. Boring. If people really did make offensive costumes along the lines of "yellow snow" that are really that offensive, we can report them. 

[Doc_Scorpion]

1 hour ago, edburke63 said:

I also wouldn't mind seeing the current level structure remain the same to Level 50, and then an entirely new level system for Veteran that allows for all of the newer content to be placed there, as far as zones and challenges go. That way, the old COH experience could be preserved while a new age could begin for the Homecoming team, and the work that players did to get their characters loaded up properly with Enhancements and such could be enjoyed through an entirely new "second round" for those characters. That system would emulate a comic superhero's journey from newcomer to established stalwart.

I'll tell you exactly what will happen if that system was put into place - it'll make the race to 50 (while ignoring current content) even more intense than it already is... And then, once again (as we are now) there'll be a ton of people who've only ever played a quarter of the game crying "is that all there is?  I. WANT. MOAR."

CoX's biggest problem isn't lack of high level content.  It's lack of low and mid level content, and that so much of what there is being stale, dated, and lacking replay value.

[MetaVileTerror]

While not phrased quite the same way as that . . . I will echo:  More low and mid-range content would be great.   Endgame is what endgame does, but if you give people more reasons NOT to grind to level cap as quickly as possible, then I think we'll have a healthier game overall.

[Vyx]

We NEED new content. KW needs to be finished. I used to play daily, but I am down to once a week simply due to the lack of content. 

[EggKookoo]

26 minutes ago, Derekl1963 said:

CoX's biggest problem isn't lack of high level content.  It's lack of low and mid level content, and that so much of what there is being stale, dated, and lacking replay value.

Totally agree, and for such an alt-friendly game as this, it's a problem.

[ILIWAPCT]

1. Status Quo.

2. Quality of life Bug Fixes .

3. Development of COH/COV 2

[Bossk_Hogg]

1) Keep the game casual and alt-friendly. The easy availability of IO's and incarnate materials compared to live is awesome. As someone with a full time job, family, and home to deal with, I have little interest in "working" for fun these days. Let other games be for the tryhards who want to grind to prove their video game superiority. I feel making endless characters is coded in COH's DNA, and without monthly subscriptions there's no reason to make it overly onerous to level/gear.

 

2) I *really* want to keep my characters. I'm not super keen to restart a THIRD time on a 15 year old game.

 

[Blue Jay]

Someone mentioned a progress bar on story arc. I like that one. I'd also like to see people in tfs able to read along besides just the leader in talking to the contact.

 

I was healed from the loss of this game that first weekend that Score became available. That was all I needed, even with the panicked wipe that happened. It was just right. I played from i6-close, and now I've gotten addicted to this game again with ever-increasing shard stability (your team is unprecedented). The game looks like it's going to become fully legit (and will start earning revenue somehow - and I'd like to know how), but living on a limited income, and trying to better myself personally, doesn't mesh well with me continuing to play this awesome and enveloping superhero/supervillain game, as much as I'd love to learn all about Battalion and Omega (etc) incarnate powers, and the accumulations of more than 1500 badges. I ❤️ CoX, but my time here is limited to when I know the right time to drop it will be. I just wanted to say thank you to whoever kept it alive all these years, and released it back into this sweet resurrection and into a full revitalization. Good god, that's hot!

 

I like playing at 50 with accolades and enhancements. I like playing endgame, not trying to get there. I like playing mid-game content through ouro, badges or not. I like PLing a character I want to play up to 50, getting in all the enhancements I want, and then playing at 50 (endgame and -50 content - tfs, etc). More mid-game stuff is an excellent idea, but know when things actually need changed versus making it into something not quite like City. Let there always be more ways and reasons to play this game than one. Goofing off with a league on the ski slopes using incan is a perfectly legit way to play if that is what ends up happening some evening...

Edited September 9, 2019 by Bluejay
I chose to.

[Chuckers]

Something else I thought of that I would like to see.. It's a simple QoL feature, but I would love to have a better way of searching badges. The drop down categories need expansion. I'd like to see a drop down choice for TF's, Safeguard/Mayhem, etc. Trying to see if I've done a Mayhem Mission already is kinda tough when I am not exactly sure of the badge name. It's not very intuitive to where certain badges are located.

 

Edited September 30, 2019 by Chuckers

[JCMcBoo]

New powersets

Escrima 

Water Control

Shotgun

More tanker sets like Titan Weapons (majority cone and AoE attacks aimed at crowd control)

 

More costume options

Allow use of robotic arm options with sleeveless jackets and robes.

Increase the glove, boot and chest detail options with jackets and robes. 

Allow use of bottom patterns with briefs and bikinis.

More boots!

More belts!

More gloves!

And a color wheel so I can dial in the exact color I want!

 

Quality of life

Add a button to the shop interface  that brings up the enhancement screen so that I can upgrade or add new enhancements by right-clicking on a given slot and then select from a drop down menu what enhancements are available at that store specific to the power being enhanced. 

 

A nerf of the Night Widow blinding powder. It last far too long and is applied far too often in the stretch of a single battle.

 

Because I want it

Hoverbike travel power!

Swinging travel power! 

 

Impossible or implausible but you asked

Fold CoV into CoH and give players access to all PC and RI zones regardless of moral code and make heroes and Villains factions within the game. Kind of like the PVP zones, control of a would depend on hero or villain activity and make PvP voluntary in any zone in the the game based on individual challenge. Villain control would be indicated by longer night cycles and Hero by longer day cycles and the controlling side would still get PvP bonuses. Set up new statues around the zones that can be chosen by and sing the praises of super groups and villain groups that do the most to keep control of a given zone.

 

 

Edited September 10, 2019 by JCMcBoo
Forgot one

[Starhammer]

On 9/7/2019 at 1:23 PM, Cooltastic said:

*Making the game more controller/gamepad friendly:

     -Making it so that you can switch all targeted location based abilities to be able to be activated on a targeted enemy instead. Example: Shield Charge, Lightning Rod, etc.

    

I think this will take care of you on that point...

I25 Patchnotes
--------------

Powexec_Location:
Added /powexec_location, a client-side slash command to allow use of location targeted powers without having to click.
Usage: /powexec_location loc power
loc is a location specifier. There's several different things you can use here:
me or self - Both target the power on yourself.
target - Your currently selected target. If you have no target, the power is not activated.
direction:distance - direction can either be one of six cardinal directions relative to the player: forward, back, left, right, up, down, -or- it can be a number. If it's a number, it is taken as an angle in degrees. 0 is straight in front of you, 90 is right, etc. It can also be camera, to indicate the direction the camera is facing, including elevation.
distance is either a number in world units (feet), or the keyword max, which means to use the maximum range of the power.
power is the name of the power, just like what you'd use with /powexec_name. You can put quotes around the name to make it look cleaner if you want, but they are optional.
 
Useful examples:
/powexec_location me Fire Imps
/powexec_location target Tar Patch
/powexec_location camera:max Teleport
Redirector powers will no longer accidentally be flagged as NearGround.

[Rathulfr]

I haven't read all 16 pages (so far), so here's my short list:

 

• Energy Melee Scrappers.
• Melee/Support AT, like Paladins (tank + heals) -- we need a tanker AT that's clearly different than Brutes/Scrappers.
• The ability to re-spec primary and/or secondary, within an archetype.
• LFG made to work like WoW's Dungeon Finder: just throw me into a random PUG so I don't have to spam/beg the LFG chat channel.
• The ability to "bank" a significant percentage (not 100%) of earned XP on deleted characters, so that we can "spend" that earned XP on new alts, instead of farming/grinding them up.  For example, if I legitimately earned enough XP to get a character to level 50, but I no longer wish to play them, I should be able to "save" 50% of that earned XP to my account for later use.  Then, when I create a new character, I should be able to apply that saved XP to the new character to boost them up from level 1 to 25 instantly.  Maybe even cap all such boosts to level 25 maximum per new character, just in case I've deleted a bunch of older characters to fill my bank account, and we don't want to allow for "Instant-50s".
• Asymmetrical shoulders, gloves, boots.
• More back pieces beyond just capes, wings, or backpacks.  Even something as simple as the functional equivalent of Chest Detail for the back (Back Detail).
• Three colors instead of just two for costume pieces.
• Update the ancient low-res textures, PLEASE.
• Across the board buff to attack rate and/or nerf of recharge times, to reduce the necessity of training Hasten, in the same way that Fitness was made inherent to give everyone Stamina.  It doesn't even need to be a big change: maybe +10-25%  should be enough for most folks to drop Hasten, but allow others to keep it for their min/max or perma-* optimized builds.
• Across the board buff to base defense to all (maybe +2.5-5%, tops) for everyone, to reduce the necessity of taking 3-4 power pools just to soft-cap defense.  It seems like getting that last 2.5-5% causes me more headaches than anything else in all of my builds.
• Get rid of "The Claw", or maybe reduce it from 5% to 2.5%.
• Make Mastermind pet models selectable from other in-game NPC groups.  For example, Thugs MMs chould pick pet models from Hellions, Skulls, Outcasts, Mooks, Family, etc.  Mercs MMs could pick 5th Column, Council, Longbow, Sky Raiders, Vanguard, etc.  Demons MMs could pick Circle of Thorns, Banished Pantheon, Tuatha, etc.  None of the powers/abilities/stats have to change: just the pet models.  If they could pick a different one per costume slot, that'd be even better.
• "City of Jetbikes" -- yes, we've heard all the arguments against them, but maybe we need to revisit Vehicles as travel powers.  Make them unusable in combat and mission maps, to be sure.  Make them ludicrously expensive in Endurance cost.  Make them restricted in PVP, or something like that.  But just make them.  Superhero vehicles are mainstays in comic book lore, so they should be added to City of Heroes.

That's all for now: I'm tired of typing.  Thanks for the opportunity to share!

 

Edited September 10, 2019 by Rathulfr

[moocowgaipan]

Expanding on a couple items already mentioned, COH needs an across-the-board graphics overhaul. Those Other superhero games meant to be COH's successors are already looking very next generation while still under development, and especially when it comes to the faces. Customizing the appearance of Mastermind pets would definitely be a nice bonus as well. The character creator was amazing in its day, but it can be better still now.

 

I have found the same spirit of community and adventure on Homecoming as had existed on the original Live game. There is something weirdly awesome about a game that can make grown men play barbie for half a day at a time and cry like lil' girls upon discovering the games' resurrection. Or supposedly it happens. On Reddit. Let's not lose that to the competition just because it's "prettier" and especially not to game whose one-shot gimmick is "yes, but we're on a spaceship!"

[drboston]

1) Requirements and instructions on how to submit art (texture + mesh) content ex: chest detail, hair style

2) Proliferation of existing NPC costume parts

Rogue Arachnos symbol

 

Angus McQueen's (Lost) face

 

Aurora Borealis 's tiara and hoops

 

Borea's jacket, sleeves and skirt

 

Desperate Guy's top

 

Gaussian's chest detail, shoulders and underbelt

 

Gordon Stacy's hair and tie

 

Gorgeous Glenda’s face, top, gloves and pants

 

Ice Minstral's boot detail

 

Kirsten Woods' top

 

Long Jack's plaid top and pot belly (separate)

 

Marshal Blitz's face

 

Melanie Peebles' hat, chest and skirt

 

Ouroboros back detail

 

Ouroboros pouch

 

Ouroboros thigh guard

 

Ouroboros shoulders, upper arm guard and belt

 

Ouroboros forearm guard

 

Ouroboros chest detail

 

Steven Sheridan's tie and lab coat

 

Succubus' hair, horns, face, top and bottoms

 

Terrence Dobbs' overalls

 

Tristan Caine's top and shorts

 

Virginia_Hoffman's top

 

Woodsman's helmet and shoulder detail

s

[drboston]

On 9/7/2019 at 10:36 AM, seanmm81 said:

Updated textures for everything. starting with costume pieces.  I have 16GB of system ram with 6GB of video ram. For many people even 8GB of ram is common. Anyone else remember how in 2004 at release 1GB was a tad overkill. I looked it up, in late 2004 the best video card you could buy had 256MB of ram. There is room now lets use it 😄

I have upscaled versions of the textures, if folks are interested.  https://www.dropbox.com/sh/tnx581bzwpa7s7u/AABGF9qchgbB82tC3Y3oxXSBa?dl=0

[Sakai]

If I were the powers that be I would revamp the early TFs. I'm looking at you Synapse and Citadel. 

 

Beyond that everything else that has been said. 

 

I'm just happy to be back so ty. 

[Rathulfr]

20 minutes ago, drboston said:

I have upscaled versions of the textures, if folks are interested.  https://www.dropbox.com/sh/tnx581bzwpa7s7u/AABGF9qchgbB82tC3Y3oxXSBa?dl=0

How make work this?

[Surelle]

To the moon!  🙂

 

Hey, Posi said they were workin' on it way back when....

 

I mainly want a guarantee from NCsoft that they aren't going to shut CoX down ever again, if you want to know the truth, though.

[drboston]

On 9/7/2019 at 3:47 PM, DarschPugs said:

absolutely no rewards for donors, our reward is being able to play and know we can help out when we can.

I'd like to keep the donor system, on a month by month or quarter by quarter basis. Folks can pay what they feel like, just list a suggested donation. Have stretch goals, maybe build in pay for devs or purchasing asset packages or whatever. I think it's important that everyone have the same level of access to game features without regard to pay / donor / microtransaction status. I think there's enough love, money and talent caught up here that we could have a not-for-profit, free to play, no microtransactions model. Think Wikipedia - they provide a service on a donation basis.

 

There should be some structured way to tap into talent in the community, or even entrust talentless drudge to those who want to donate labor (will regression test for love). If the devs asked me to make a new chest detail/SG symbol every other day, I'd agree to it. I might even fight for the opportunity 🙂

[drboston]

On 9/7/2019 at 10:18 PM, Derek Icelord said:

I want what we have with Homecoming. Issue 25, with QoL improvements and bugfixes. I couldn't care less if it's officially licensed or not.

 

My major concern is how beholden to NC Soft a licensed server would be. While new powersets and other content would be nice, it isn't even close to worth having NC Soft's boot at our throat (again).

Yeah, it's critical that if we put in the effort and expense to be legitimate, that we get a turnover from NC Soft with no future strings. Good luck with that. May just want to make sure it'll be an expensive PITA to enforce their legal rights.