This is now in the category of ye olde news... but...
As some of you may be aware,
COH PAX is on atm. There are records of the the Q & A panel located
here. They talk about Issue 20 and other goodies.
For some strange reason my connection won't let actually view the recordings and trailers and other assorted goodies so if someone else could hit the highlights... it would be appreciated.
From the traffic on the forums... oh boy.
Shader
Seconding the request for a summary, I really don't have it in me to listen to all those recordings. (It's something I hate doing anyway in most cases.)
Mergers? Merge what? o.O If it's servers, I'd be more expectant of a -split-. At least for ones that seem to end up constantly red like virtue. (Although that'd be such a hellish mess in it's own right...)
-Morgan.
Well, the "mergers" is merging the NA and EU server lists, so all the servers will be accessible. I'll Edit this in a bit with a transcript I saw on the CoH forums, just have to pull it up first.
Edit to add (Thanks for original copy job go to Obsidian Farmer)
Copy/paste from the NewsaRama feed.
12:04
The panel is just about to kick off here!
12:04
Tia "Avatea" is here running the panel
12:05
Nate "Second Measure" Birkholz lead producer
12:05
and Ryan "No Redname" Roth, senior artist
12:05
Nate starts off with "What is City of Heroes?"
12:06
April is the 7 year anniversary of the longest running superhero MMO
12:06
"We've become known for being innovative."
12:06
"We have a nearly infinite customizability"
12:07
"We want you to truly feel heroic, and virtually twirl your mustache as a villain."
12:07
"We've been blessed with having fantastic people playing our game, and we want to continue making a great game for you"
12:07
Catching up from 2010...
12:08
Issue 19: Alpha Strike! was released
12:08
introducing the Incarnate system coming in Issue 20.
12:08
"Incarnate powers let you ascend to almost godlike levels of power"
12:08
Alpha Slot came in and bypassed the power level restrictions we've had until this point.
12:09
It also brought in Apex and Tin Mage task forces.
12:09
"Lots of, again, giant robots. We sorta like normal sized robots in large quantities as well."
12:09
In early 2011, they announced the Loyalty Bonus, which will bring out emotes that let you show off your alignment at the anniversary.
12:10
"We spent much of 2010 'heads down' but now we're trying to strengthen our communication with the fans again"
12:10
Tia says this is part of a bigger initiative as part of Paragon Studios
12:11
They also introduced the Weekly Strike Target
12:12
With that, you get increased rewards if you join a group for that target; it's intended to give people a greater ability to join the community.
12:12
Recently introduced the Animal Pack Super Booster
12:12
It's done very well for them, and Ryan moves in.
12:13
He said Eric Chin was responsible for the pack as the art.
12:13
These allow you to do full-on animal men, including new customizations and new animations.
12:14
Nate jumps in for "What does the future hold?"
12:14
Announcement: Global Server Access!
12:14
NA and European servers co-exist in a single list for everyone!
12:14
The crowd clapped pretty loud for that one.
12:15
"We're very excited about this, coming up soon" said Nate.
12:15
now into Issue 20: Incarnates
12:16
It's the name of End Game, and they are woven throughout the lore.
12:16
New task and strike forces for lower level characters
12:16
Admiral Sutter TF is for Heroes levels 20-40
12:16
Let's them participate in fighting off the Praetorian invasion
12:17
They showed a Flotilla floating fortress map that's in the ocean
12:17
Ryan also showed the destroyed side of the city
12:17
"You'll be able to repel the invasion in Skyway City"
12:18
Colonel Deray will be the villain for that TF
12:18
The Mortimer Kal Strike Force is the villain force for levels 20-40
12:18
"As a villain you've heard about these Incarnates floating around in the world, and you want some of this power for yourself."
12:18
You'll face some "petty opposition to your nefarious plans" says Nate.
12:19
You'll meet Positron and take the Flames of Prometheus, an incarnate artifact from him.
12:19
You get to keep that until you hit level 50, when you can trade it for components for the incarnate system
12:19
Also introducing the Team-Up Teleporter
12:19
it's "Looking for groups" turned on its head.
12:20
Log-in, click a button, and you'll join an incarnate trail, teleported directly to it and starting the hour-long missions.
12:20
They talk specifically about Behavioral Adjustment Facility
12:20
Ryan showed off some screenshots. And yes, there are GIANT ROBOTS
12:21
"Mother Mayhem releases some brainwashed prisoners back into the underground, and you have to try to stop them from escaping"
12:21
You'll fight Siege, Nightstar, then both of them together, requiring co-ordination with your group.
12:22
From there, you move on to Lambda Sector
12:22
here you have to defeat Marauder's plans
12:22
This is where the weapons for the invasion are developed.
12:23
You split up into two teams here, going through the biological facility and the military warehouse.
12:23
Fighting Marauder is pretty tough as he's a "slippery villain"
12:23
4 new Incarnate Slots!
12:23
Judgement, Lore, Destiny, and Interface
12:23
Lore are summons, Destiny are buffs, interface are extra attack abilities
12:24
The incarnate powers have "the entire art team really excited" says Ryan.
12:24
They are "very dramatic, really fun to use and show off" with much bigger animations.
12:25
So that's Issue 20
12:25
"What lies beyond..."
12:25
Next incarnate trial will be Keyes Island Reactors.
12:25
here you're fighting against "Anti-Matter"
12:25
he's Postiron's evil twin
12:26
Next after that is Underground Praetoria
12:26
Bring a stealth member on this one, says Nate.
12:26
Hammadon was only in hibernation, and is back in this one.
12:27
The mission interior has cool glowing all over with strange alien attachments growing around.
12:28
Now they're showing the trailer for Issue 20.
12:28
"His rule is absolute. His forces ar unstoppable. The Stakes have never been higher"
12:28
"Fight together to save two worlds"
12:29
"Rise to new levels of power"
12:29
The new animations are huge and flashy for sure
12:30
Now they're starting fan Q&A, asking the fans to keep questions to today's topics if possible.
12:30
Q: As an avid badge collector, will the passport badge be available to the general public?
12:31
Tia: "We'll be releasing more information about that..."
12:31
She said they'll have more information about global server access on Monday or Tuesday next week.
12:31
Q: Wil there be high level task forces in addition to the trials?
12:31
Nate: We want to keep developing these trials, but we're not abandoning SF and TF at all.
12:32
Q: Any more 'fusion' abilities like Oil Slick with Fire?
12:32
Q: Any water powers coming, as well?
12:33
Nate: We never managed to get water to look right, and it became energy.
12:33
The combining of abilities is something we've discussed, and is a really good idea. We'll follow up with that.
12:34
Q: Regarding team-up teleporter, can that apply to other things besides the trials?
12:34
Nate: We do plan to add other content to it over time, we just need to do it without overloading the UI
12:34
Tia: It really is a great way to participate in the end game content for more casual players especially.
12:35
Q: More villain costumes availabe like seers, praetorian clockwork, or simple street clothes option?
12:36
Nate: We've discussed street clothes but they're not "very heroic". You will get some of these villain costume piece in the "near future"
12:36
"From now on, when we create new villain groups, some of those parts will be released at the same time."
12:37
Q: When everyone's an incarnate, how will people be distinguished from the masses?
12:37
Nate: Incarnate trees will continue to expand, and we'll continue to add new powersets and costume pieces as well.
12:38
Q: Any more functionality for supergroups and bases?
12:38
Nate: Definitely.
12:38
(but he can't say exactly what/when)
12:38
Q: First can I second the bid for street clothes?
12:38
[Comment From Shadur]
Luke Cage would like to dispute your assertion that street clothes can't be heroic.
12:39
Very nice, Shadur.
12:39
Then the fan just thanked them for the more "casual player" content.
12:40
Q: Have you been looking at feedback for past Weekly Strike Targets?
12:40
Nate: We are, definitely. We want to continue to improve some of the legacy content in the game.
12:40
"With infinite resources we'd be constantly advancing everything we've done"
12:41
The fan ended with "More power set proliferation" to claps and laughs.
12:41
Q: Any plans for post level 20 praetorian content?
12:41
Nate: The praetorian story is "just too good to leave behind" so look for more of that in the future.
12:41
Q: Any plans to have an archetype that could pull from every power pool?
12:42
Nate: The game was actually developed without archetypes in the beginning, and people were making really bad characters.
12:43
For those asking that just joined us, the server list merger between NA and Europe will have more news early in the week, on Monday or Tuesday in the CoH forums.
12:43
Q: When will my female characters have a walk animation that doesn't make them look like a runway model?
12:43
Nate: Noted.
12:44
Q: Are the new incarnate powers going to be customizable, and will we get customizable epic pools?
12:44
Nate: We're always trying to expand the power customization options, and a lot of the problems there are in the UI. We are looking to do that though.
12:45
Q: Tech in the game has gotten so much better over the years. Have you thought about bringing older content up-to-date?
12:45
Nate: "Definitely something we're interested in." it just takes choosing which to do first.
12:46
Q: Any new story arcs for level 30, level 40 area?
12:46
Nate: Yeah, the new strike and task forces are specifically for that mid-level range.
12:46
Q: A couple questions, first off, when do our male characters get a sexier walk?
12:46
Lots of laughs and claps from the crowd
12:46
Q: There was talk of personal lairs, any plans for that?
12:47
Nate: It's a fantastic idea, but for all the stuff we do with that creation we'd not be creating missions. It'd also impact performance, as they'd all be little maps we'd be serving, but it's worth exploring.
12:47
Q: Any plans to be ble to buy something so we can respec character powers?
12:48
Nate: I wish Matt was here so you could see his head explode every time I suggest this to him. It's something we've discussed though.
12:48
Q: Any solid plan to make Citadel less friggin repetitive?
12:48
Nate: Shortly before I started at Paragon, I played a 7 hour failed Citadel.
12:48
It is definitely on the list of near-term things.
12:49
Q: Customization, will jetpacks/any other kind of backpacks be options?
12:49
Nate: Definitely. won't be able to have them and wings at the same time.
12:50
"It's something David Nakayama has brought up" but won't be coming *too* soon.
12:50
Q: will origin appear in your powers more?
12:50
Nate: Origins ARE appearing more in the missions now, but it's hard to maintain/balance for powers.
12:51
Q: Any ideas for a customizable UI?
12:52
Nate: Changing the UI is an interesting challenge. Anything we do, we have to maintain both, which would be more than double the work.
12:54
Q: Would it be possible to buy game time for someone else through the online store?
12:55
Tia: That question has been asked several times, and we brought it up to our marketing guy. There are certain complexities we need to look into to make that happen.
12:56
Q: Ever plan to have vehicles? And any more custom animations coming?
12:56
Nate: We'll bring it up with the art director, as far as the animations go for movement and powers
12:57
"The challenge with vehicles is that nothing in the world has been made with vehicles in mind"
12:58
Q: Shadow shard. Anything?
12:58
Tia: I would've been surprised if no one brought that up.
12:58
Nate: I brought it up with Matt the other day. It's a big undertaking.
12:58
Q: Any possibility of new regular archetypes?
12:59
Nate: I feel like, we wanna be careful. We feel like we've explored a lot of the basic archetypes in the game. Epic ones are hard to maintain. That said, we always try to add new flavors to the game, and nothing is off the table.
12:59
That's all for today! Thanks for reading, all!