Champions Online screenshots

[Logan Darklighter]

I've had access to a free trial account for a few days now in Champions Online. The game does a few things better than City of Heroes but in many ways is
not as deep. It's very VERY pretty and shiny.

I made a couple of analogs of characters that were also made for City of Heroes - Lora Doubet and Stalnoy Volk.

Ironically, Lora started out as my very first Champions character when I was introduced to the P&P Champions system back during the 4th Edition days (1992
or so).

Here she is in City of Heroes:





And here's what I was able to do in Champions Online:





Now I'm not entirely happy with the character creation system. It's robust and all. But it has a weakness - Faces.

There are no alternate textures for faces (unless you count specifically non-human faces, cat-girls, etc). You make a different face ENTIRELY by manipulating
the sliders. Seeing as how most people won't take the time to really learn how to do it (and though I would, I'm not well versed in it yet) you wind up
with a lot of faces looking entirely too similar. Particularly the women. And if you try for something TOO out there, it's way too easy to make something
bizarre looking.

But the textures overall are nice. And the layering system is something that I think CoH could implement, given time.

Overall, I think Champions has a similar problem that Pixar once had - problems with organic people as opposed to artificial surfaces, which look MUCH better.

As a case in point -

Now you're probably familiar with Stalnoy Volk. I intended him to look properly "Russian Power Armor". And I pretty much succeeded. I've
always liked this look for him. It works well.



Well I wasn't able to get precisely the same thing in Champions Online, but what I DID get I'm pretty happy with.



Shiny...

And yes, that is an actual shot of Millenium City as the backdrop for the character screen.

Here, want a closer look?





And by the way...

ACTUAL BOOT JETS!!!



Oh yeah. We're really high up now...











Another interesting take on a travel power is superleap. Take a look at this -









The ground cracks and shatters when you land!

Anyway, there's more. But this post is getting pretty long and heavily graphics laden as it is.

Here's the link to the entire album. I have some screenshot sequences of Lora and Stalnoy in action in the desert. You'll get to see the animations and
poses for Martial Arts. And some of Stalnoy's weapons in action.

Including MISSILES. Yes, Stalnoy Volk in CO can do an Itano Circus/Macross Missile Massacre. ^_^

Logan's Champions Online Photobucket page.

[Sweno]

This isn't helping my attempts to only subscribe to one game at a time

why must you tempt us with the shiny? why!
-Terry
-----
"so listen up boy, or pornography starring your mother will be the second worst thing to happen to you today"
TF2: Spy

[dark seraph]

okay, power armor looks nice, but thats it, the rest of it looks off to me. i think i'll stay with CoX thanks

[Baseload]

I agree with DS. The armor looks amazing. Excellent detail.

Not enough to get me to switch though.

[Bob Schroeck]

The screenshots have made me curious -- is the Champs Online gameworld a wide-open sandbox? Or is it just more subtly zoned than CoX?
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.

[Logan Darklighter]

Well let me see if I can explain by way of describing what I've seen so far.

First you go to a tutorial zone which is a subset of Millennium City. It actually feels pretty epic, because the overall event is an Alien Invasion by the
insectoid Qularr. Huge mothership hovering a mile above the city, attack craft screaming between the buildings dropping troops off. During the tutorial
scenario, parts of the city zone that you are in are in rubble, and at least one building has fallen completely over on its side. The whole area is sealed off
inside an alien forcefield. That's the perimeter that defines the tutorial area.

When you complete the final scenario within the tutorial, you are given a short heroes welcome and then you board a helicopter to a new crisis. Either in the
Southwest Desert or in the Canadian wilderness. This is when you get your travel powers and get new attacks. At first I thought I could leave and visit
Millennium City or someplace else, but actually you can only choose to shuttle between the two Zones. Again, there's an in-gameworld story element that
limits the perimeter of these areas. (radioactive force field in the desert, supernatural storm in Canada) Think of this second set of scenarios as Tutorial
Part 2. Once you finish the final mission of one of these areas, THEN things finally open up for real.

This is when the world really starts to open up. So far I've discovered three zones. There's Millennium City proper. There's the Southwestern
Desert. And the Canadian Wilderness. But not the tutorial versions of the zones. The WHOLE thing. And these zones are ENORMOUS.

Give you some idea here. Stalnoy Volk has flight and it seems like he can fly at - oh about average speed for a City of Heroes character. If I were to compare,
I'd say he can fly about as fast as a level 35 character with at least one SO in flight speed. Going from one end of the Millennium City Zone to the other
takes about 10 minutes. The largest zones in CoH are about 2 in-game miles across. I think as a rough estimate the zones in CO are about 4-6 miles across.
Maybe more than that.

They do a pretty good job of making it look open, but it's really not. They don't have Warwalls. They just have invisible barriers you can't cross.
Interestingly, as you approach the absolute edge of a zone, all the color leeches out of the picture and leaves you looking at a black and white representation
of things. I guess they wanted a more subtle clue that "you can't go there" without there being an actual wall or some voice telling you to turn
back. Sort of make things so that you want to turn back on your own.

Each zone has several areas within it that have their own character. Call them "neighborhoods" if you will. Because in Millennium City proper,
that's what they are. Each is large enough to have it's own set of missions and goals.

So - let me sort of make another comparison/analogy here. The overall Millennium City zone is large enough to compare to a large chunk of Paragon City.
Let's take all the zones on the Yellow Tram line in Paragon, mash em all together and make them all one zone. That's Atlas, Galaxy, Kings Row, Steel
Canyon, and Skyway. That's about the size Millennium City "feels" like. Except it's much more diverse within that area in tone and
architecture and the level ranges are wider.

Kinda the same deal with the other two zones I've mentioned. Except that since they are mostly wilderness areas, the boundaries between
"neighborhoods" are a lot less defined.

The way you move between the three zones I've encountered so far is via a VTOL jet sitting on a landing pad located in a safe part of the zone near the
trainers and vendors. You move up to the jet and the game asks you which zone you want to go to. I assume that as other zones become unlocked, they would
simply add them to the choices the jet gives you. I've found no other way of leaving an overall zone.

So that's what I've seen so far. Clear enough?

[Dragonflight]

How are missions handled? Is it like CoH, with mission doors, or is it more like Warcraft, with random encounters in the gameworld, and endless repeats on
"Kill these guys, collect two dozen skulls and bring back their still-beating hearts for us"? (Especially funny when you play the Paladin,
apparently.)
---
Those who fear the darkness have never seen what the light can do.

[Logan Darklighter]

Sort of half and half. I'd say most missions take place on the main map like in WoW. But often times those seem to lead to story missions where you enter
an instanced area.

Although they DO have more things to do then just "destroy this many". Some of the other things I've been asked to do is find a stolen passport.
Rescue citizens trapped under rubble (which you can pick up if you're strong enough, or just blast/hit the rubble till it breaks), help launch a hero with
metal skin through a rail gun... all kinds of things.

[Ankhani]

I'm slightly curious about the powers. The website isn't exactly clear on it all. Suffice it to say, I know you can pick any 2 power sets from a list
at chargen or something like it. There's not really much info on the actual powers and how they work with each other. I'd be curious to try this out on
my spare time if there was such a free trial thing availible, but I'd just as soon know more.

There doesn't happen to be a CO Wiki or somthing does there?
---

The Master said: "It is all in vain! I have never yet seen a man who can perceive his own faults and bring the charge home against himself."

>Analects: Book V, Chaper XXVI

[Sweno]

http://championsonline.wikia.com/wiki/C ... nline_Wiki
-Terry
-----
"so listen up boy, or pornography starring your mother will be the second worst thing to happen to you today"
TF2: Spy

[CrimsonKMR]

I played this off and on during the Beta.

I'll reiterate what Logan said - Millennium City is 'UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGE

I got kinda depressed when they nerfed the hell out of my Gun-Fu character : Didn't play the beta much after that
There is no coincidence, only necessity....
- Clow Reed

[Dragonflight]

Briefly checked out the wiki, then realized I needed more sleep when I misread "Cloud of Flies" to read "Cloud of Fries".
---
Those who fear the darkness have never seen what the light can do.

[Acyl]

Cloud of Fries? I would totally take that power.

In all seriousness, reading the descriptions for the new Celestial powerset they're introducing after Halloween...is actually the number one thing that makes me wanna try Champions. Seriously. 'cause that is what I really want from a superhero MMO powerset. Powers that are both attacks and heals - the same powers do damage or heal/buff depending on whether they hits an ally or enemy. You just can't, y'know, do that in CoH.

(The number two thing that makes me wanna try Champions is, of course, the fact it does power armor better.)

Granted, those are only two reasons, so that's not critical mass for me to pony up cash for it. Maybe if I ever get my hands on a trial code.
-- Acyl

[Logan Darklighter]

Well I made versions of Cyberman 8 and Kara Skye in CO.

I'd be happy with Pete's look if I could just get the blasted helmet to look right. There's NO WAY to do it justice in Champions! GRRR!!!



At first glance, Kara looks really nice. But - there's just something off with the way they portray wings in this game. For a static resting shot like
the one here, it looks fine, right? Now imagine them in that EXACT same pose when you are running around on the ground. It looks more awkward than in City of
Heroes! You'd think a game like Champions being a next-gen game would have the wings flutter about when resting standing on the ground. But nope!
They're just as static as CoH wings! But to me - that's exactly the wrong pose for the wings to be in if you're going to leave them static. At
least with City of Heroes, the wings seem like they are in a more natural "at rest" position when on the ground. And if they're static, at least
they don't seem to be getting in the way when the character is moving around.

When characters with wings are hovering in the air or flying, their wingspan is noticeably wider than CoH wings. Which is fine because that is slightly more
realistic, plus it looks cool. But then they again mess it up. When a character is moving at full flight speed, do you think their wings beat faster? NOPE.
They put the character's wings into a "soaring" pose and leave them that way! What the heck?

Overall, not the choices I would have made in going from CoH to CO in that regard.

[OpMegs]

It's probably ironic that I'd wind up with more male characters than female (except maybe if I did a Sabre thing or similar) if I were to get into this
game.

Why?

Because I get some seeeeeeerious weirding out by the female faces I've seen in *every* screenshot.

...is it bad I'd try a trial just to play with the character creator and never touch the actual *game*? Cause that's about all it's got in favor of
it over CoH thus far that I've seen from browsing the wiki. Just from my perspective.
---
"Oh, silver blade, forged in the depths of the beyond. Heed my summons and purge those who stand in my way. Lay
waste."

[Ankhani]

That's half of what I want to do myself. Playing the game seems of little interest beyond the novelty. But the Costume creator is ever so much more interesting.

Reminds me of other games that were shiny and pretty and fun to play so you could see things more than they were to play the game.
---

The Master said: "It is all in vain! I have never yet seen a man who can perceive his own faults and bring the charge home against himself."

>Analects: Book V, Chaper XXVI

[Acyl]

Well, it is an extraordinarily pretty game, and like Ops and Ankh, I really want to play with the costume creator. The game itself...
From what I've heard from folks, the game was genuinely too easy before the nerfs. Now, however, it seems too easy to screw yourself over with poor or subpar choices. That ain't good to hear.
But it is incredibly, incredibly, pretty.
I've actually considered just flat out buying the game, since there's a pretty good discount from Amazon UK and other mail order outlets. It's still not incredibly cheap, but I've paid more for games that I finished in under a month.
'course, the UK is in a postal service strike right now...
-- Acyl

[Render]

I've been playing Champions some (no, this is not why I haven't been on CoX much at all; work has just sucked, and I haven't had much free time.)

Some things that interest me:

Some powers you can 'charge up' (holding the button down before releasing it) which makes the power do more damage or affect more targets, &c.
Other powers you can 'maintain' for a continuous blast & the damage per tick goes up as you pour more energy into it. You can just 'tap'
both kinds of powers for a basic blast, too, but being able to pour on extra power for an alpha strike or a punishing attack feels very comic-booky in a good
way.

The default 'block' mechanic was weak but after replacing it with the electric shield, I belatedly realized that it's not just for blocking those
big ZOWIE attacks. In trouble, I can turtle up behind the shield, which converts a good chunk of incoming damage to energy. Which I can then dump--all at
once--into a PBAoE. This will drop an equal level henchman from full health--if the knockback chance doesn't send them flying out of range.

To add insult to impending injury, teleportation in Champions is a kind of flight+invisibility+phase shift thing. You 'wobble' in flight, so you
can't always land right in the middle of a bunch of mobs, say, but it wobbles around your direction of travel, so you don't have to worry too much
about course corrections when crossing the zone, and it comes with bit of a grace period as you phase in; gravity takes hold kind of...slowly. And it makes
such a crazy good escape button that I'm afraid it will be nerfed.

The way the power 'frameworks' are set up seems confusing but I do like the fact that you can add entirely new effects to some powers.

The character creator can do things I wish CoX could do, like asymmetrical costumes, custom eye colors, more layers, and four colors on (some) costume parts.
And the 'stance' thing that changes your char's basic body language and movements is way cool. But the reliance (and sheer number) of sliders for
face and body design seem to throw me continually into the uncanny valley. It's very easy to make interesting freaks. Or armor. But it's easier for me
to make human(ish) characters that look cool to me (subjective, I know) on City of Heroes.

Favorite thing about Champions, though? Not having to compete for names. About @#$%! time someone figured that out.

[Acyl]

So, here's a specific technical question for the Champions players.

I was told that energy meter in Champions Online works by building energy through having to spam your basic level 1 attack. But a quick glance at the forums seems to indicate...you do have an 'equilibrum' level of energy that you start a fight with. So the energy builder attack just lets you fill the energy bar beyond equilibrum, or restore stuff you've used. And you do recover energy out of combat. Plus you can increase recovery rate, max endurance, etc, with the right build.

So how repetitive is combat? I mean, I had this mental image of folks running around PEW PEW PEW all the time and occasionally throwing off a big attack, then rinse and repeat. Which, I mean, let's be clear, I personally am okay with. Though I'd like something more, of course. Is it fun? Yes, I realise that's an incredibly subjective question.

(But as I've indicated, I've got a line or two on really cheap retail copies of the game, so I might try it for a month at least.)
-- Acyl

[Logan Darklighter]

You are correct on the end usage. Give you an example: Stalnoy Volk, the power armor character. His basic wrist blasters actually don't have as much range
as his chain gun or missiles. So if I want to open up on a group of goons at longer range with those powers, it's perfectly feasible to do so.

Combat is not as repetitive as you might think. No more so than CoH. It starts off that way with you only having two basic attacks. But the more powers you
gain, the more you can mix it up. And keep in mind that some powers like some melee sets actually cycle through different animations as you hit them
repeatedly. So it LOOKS like you're varying you're attack more than you really are. It looks exciting, that's for sure.

Is it fun?

Okay. Here's an example. Remember that scene in Iron Man with Tony lifting off and "standing" on his boot jets in mid air while he rains energy
beam death into a missile to blow it up and the terrorist camp with it? You can do EXACTLY THAT.

There are certain elements of the game which are very cool. There's some wonky stuff too. I went on about the wings above, of course. They are introducing
new costume elements on what seems like a regular basis. And some stuff is unlockable, like in CoH. For instance, my cat-girl character has a shoulder harness
that Ironclad uses. Which I don't THINK was available when I first started.

Oh yeah. Cat-girls. Remember when I said that Champions does power armor better than CoH? Well arguable catgirls are an area where Champions shines as well.
MOVING tails for one thing. And the basic character stances? They can really help define a character. Well here - let me show you.

You can go from this:





To this:



See what I mean?

Oh - I should also mention - beast stance also changes the animations of certain movement powers. Acrobatics most especially. In the standard stance/pose, when
you go to run, you run with your arms swept back. If you are a beast stance character, that changes to a catlike "bounding" animation.

[Matrix Dragon]

That right there? Is the ONLY thing I really, madly want from CO.

... Also, that first pose instantly makes me think of Shortpacked and "WHY WON'T MY HIPS UNSWAY?!"

[ECSNorway]

STOP. TEMPTING. ME.



I've already got enough time committed to CoH and my plans for SW:TOR... I don't need a third on top of them!
--
Sucrose Octanitrate.
Proof positive that with sufficient motivation, you can make anything explode.

[RMH999]

http://www.champions-onli...ekend?source=newsletter1

Apparently Champions is having a free weekend for the Halloween weekend for anyone who wishes to try it out... (has no real interest other the chance to play
with the Character Creator like so many others)

*edit for stupid spelling mistakes
If we knew what it was we were doing, it would not be called research, would it?
- Albert Einstein

[ECSNorway]

*whimper*
--
Sucrose Octanitrate.
Proof positive that with sufficient motivation, you can make anything explode.

[Logan Darklighter]

Here's something I just got a bug to try, once I realized just how EXTREME the proportion sliders could be tweaked.



Now all we need is to make him truly giant size...