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Paragon Studios spills the secrets of success
In a day and age when brand-new MMOs can run into serious trouble within the first few months following launch, it's remarkable to consider that City of Heroes has endured the test of time, studio transitions and competition, and still be running strong in the grand old year of 2010. Recently, the folks at Paragon Studios sat down with Gamasutra to celebrate CoH's six-year milestone, and pontificate on why the title succeeded when others failed. Senior producer Jesse Caceres and art lead David Nakayama shared particular pride in how CoH has grown and adapted over the years. One of the examples they cite is their recent "Ultra Mode" upgrade to the graphics engine, which allows players to pump up the pretty visuals that would've been all but impossible in 2004. Another reason for their success, according to the pair, is that the team worked hard to provide gamers with play choices, such as the ability to roll a villain or to create their own adventures through the Mission Architect system. Caceres has an additional idea regarding the game's longevity: its community. "I don't know if it's just the nature of our game or what, but our community is very mature... I think that kind of back-and-forth and that discourse that we have with our player base is one of the reasons why we have such a dedicated following." You can read the full interview and glean all of Paragon Studios' secrets at Gamasutra.
Going Rogue video diaries wrap up with a look at Praetoria
With less than a week to go until the official release of Going Rogue, most City of Heroes players are on the edge of their metaphorical seats. (Or leaning back in the reclining chairs of cynical pre-disappointment, but that's another metaphor.) It makes a perfect time for Paragon Studios to launch their final video documentary on the coming expansion, this one focusing on the mirror world of Praetoria. Embedded past the cut, the video features the team discussing the overall impression of the new areas, both from a gameplay and lore perspective. We've seen the area in action more than once now, but the newest documentary shows off yet again just how different the game really looks. It also discusses how the new areas are intended to be a revamp for the entire game, starting from the ground up and moving forward. It's an ambitious goal, one that City of Heroes players will get to experience in less than a week -- but until then, you can check out the video past the cut to wrap up the four-part series.
Video guide to Nova Praetoria and the Underground for City of Heroes
If the various videos released by the team at Paragon Studios have made anything clear, it's the difference between hearing about City of Heroes and seeing the game in action. That's what makes the most recent teaser trailer so interesting. We've been told about Nova Praetoria and the Underground, and we've seen static shots of the cityscape -- but seeing it in motion is a whole different thing. It turns a concept into a living, breathing city. The video, released today via the game's Facebook page, is embedded after the cut and is well worth a watch for any fan of the game. Showcasing several of the most prominent buildings, it serves as an excellent primer for players before Going Rogue goes live in just a couple weeks. It also helps demonstrate some of the effects that the art team has been touting for some time, highlighting in real time how Praetoria has been designed for Ultra Mode. Take a look past the cut, and keep your eyes peeled for more on the upcoming City of Heroes expansion as we approach launch.
A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Gonna be the future soon
This week's listening, if you by some chance didn't catch it, will be from the inimitable Mr. Jonathan Coulton. Not because the song is all that thematically appropriate (I did not leave a note on War Witch's desk, for starters), but because it's Jonathan Coulton. And it offsets the tone of this article, which is going to be... well... kind of negative. Not negative in the sense that City of Heroes is dying, because it's not. The game is full of life, flush with energy and diverse ideas. Rumors of its death have been greatly exaggerated for well on a year or so now, and I personally couldn't be happier about the state of affairs. For every problem it has, it has five or six great points, and every time I'm cresting a hill on my enjoyment there's another hill of sliced, buttered awesome in front of me. But City of Heroes is going to need to start taking steps to ensure its long-term sustainability. It needs to start realizing that their good fortune is not going to last. And so today will be a bit negative, as the long-forgotten second part of the anniversary column... where we look to the future, and see what needs to happen.
A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Everybody needs a question answered sometime
If you haven't read Jason Vuic's excellent history of the Yugo, you're doing yourself a disservice -- at least, if you have any interest in terrible cars, history, or just the crazy stylings of Malcolm Bricklin. What does that have to do with today's bevvy of City of Heroes questions, hot on the heels of our anniversary? Well, not everyone can afford the Batmobile. There are places where the Paragon Monorail (aka Justice Mass Transit) won't take you. And on those occasions, well, you truly wish that you'd just dropped the ten dollars on the Martial Arts booster or taken the darn travel power. Onward! Dashel asked: "When will Blasters get more secondaries, original or proliferated?" Soon! Maybe. I've heard tell that we may well be due for another wave of powerset proliferation with the release of Going Rogue, although that's far from a confirmed fact. So Blasters can expect to get some more love there. But we don't have any idea of exactly when we'll see more secondaries as opposed to more primary sets. The trouble is that as Blasters have been designed, they have the undesirable trait that Masterminds share: they've got a setup for one of their sets that nobody else shares.
Issue 17 of City of Heroes goes live with launch trailer
Today is a big day for City of Heroes. Not only is it the six-year anniversary of the game, with celebrations taking place both in-game and out, it's also the launch of the much-awaited Issue 17. Dubbed "Dark Mirror," the update features the graphical tweaks collectively known as Ultra Mode, as well as new story arcs and missions, improvements to Mission Architect, and a whole host of additional changes. It's also the release of the awaited Demon Summoning powerset, which is available to everyone who has prepurchased the upcoming Going Rogue expansion. Behind the cut is the official trailer for the update, which should help whet the appetite of any fans anxiously awaiting the update to complete downloading. Aside from highlighting the visuals of Ultra Mode in real-time, it shows off some of the mission content, including the full-scale war against the Freakshow pictured above. There's also the doppelgangers and the Positron task force to show off -- and only a couple more months until the game's second major expansion. Click on past the cut to see the trailer, and enjoy the new changes that help keep City of Heroes fresh six years out.
A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Glorious roundup of community motherland
I am still deeply disappointed that we do not have more Russia-themed content... well, anywhere, but especially in City of Heroes. Having grown up during the end of the Cold War, I want more fur coats and red stars and winter wastelands with nuclear missiles. Yes, it's stereotypical, but so are steampunk Prussians, holdovers from the Third Reich, and robed sword-wielding cultists. Wouldn't it be lovely? Now, much as I might like to, my love of the odd post-Cold War Russian image that's now been inserted unceremoniously into pop culture is not the point of today's article. No, today we're focusing on a straight roundup of all the community discussions that have been taking place of late, and, as always, there's plenty to talk about. While the news about Going Rogue has slowed slightly, Issue 17 is just around the corner, and the City of Heroes community hasn't stopped finding things to talk about over the past six years anyhow. Jump on past the cut for highlights of the glorious motherland of community.
City of Heroes issue 17 enters open beta
Suit up and get ready for another exciting episode of City of Heroes, as Open Beta for Issue 17: Dark Mirror is now in session. Players will experience Ultra Mode graphical upgrades, new story arcs, and additional costume options during the beta phase as well as when the new update hits the live servers. North American and European superheroes can try out the beta by logging into their respective Training Room servers, instructions for which are located here. NCSoft also encourages players to submit error reports using the in-game /bug command, as well as provide constructive feedback on the official City of Heroes forums.
PAX East 2010: City of Heroes panel reveals many things
Unpacking the City of Heroes panel at PAX East is a big deal: there were huge amounts of information being thrown around, and a lot of new pieces of information to process. For that matter, there was far more than anyone expected, with information about the full spread of new issues up to Issue 19 and the reveal of Matt "Positron" Miller's heretofore unrevealed new endgame system. The panel as a whole featured a huge breadth of information about the game from concept into the future, and was filled with people long before the official start time, with fans vocally professing their adoration for the team the whole way through. We had the good fortune to be front and center at the theatre, and once we started taking notes we didn't really stop until the event was over. At the panel were lead designer Melissa Bianco, former lead designer and current lead system designer Matt Miller, art lead David Nakayama, and development producer Jesse Caceres. They opened off with a discussion of the game's history from launch back in 2004 to the present. The changeover from Cryptic to Paragon Studios was discussed in brief, mentioning that four of the major launch employees (Miller, Bianco, CW Bennet, and Brian Clayton) were still with Paragon even after the change.
A Mild-Mannered Reporter: I'll play your game, you rogue
One of the disadvantages to working ahead is the fact that sometimes, time catches up with you. Case in point: the latest bout of Going Rogue information. By the time I found out about everything, had digested it, and was ready to write up a whole article about it... well, it was 10:40 PM on Tuesday night, and I wasn't going to have enough time to write it before the column went live. Not to mention that there wasn't an illustration ready. (Drawing those things takes the talented A. Fienemann time, after all.) So we're going to talk about it just a wee bit later. But that's not such a huge deal, because there's quite a bit to digest in the most recent batches of news. Enough that we have quite a bit to look forward to and speculate on, even if we don't necessarily find all of it quite as interesting, and a whole lot of ramifications for the game's future to think about.
Will improved City of Heroes graphics come before Going Rogue?
Apparently not content with his most recent contest, Sean "Dr. Aeon" McCann decided that he would use the official City of Heroes forums to declare a war upon television. Really, it's not that unusual for the game's forums, which tend to be on the friendly and silly side; what is a bit more unusual is the carrot being offered. His promise is that if readers join him in his war against television (which, to be fair, is a fine war), the game's "Ultra Mode" will be released to all players prior to Going Rogue. Silly? Of course it is, McCann isn't even on the same team in charge of the graphical upgrade. Except that there has been a persistent rumor that the upgrade, revealed at Hero-Con along with the groundswell of Going Rogue information, will be going live before the expansion's launch anyway. Of course, McCann himself points out that he couldn't possibly follow up on his promise... which could mean that he knows something will happen. Or it could be the resident mad scientist of City of Heroes being his usual impish self. Either way, this rumor has a bit more meat on its bones, so players might want to go ahead and keep an eye on that thread. [ Thanks to Informant D for the tip! ]
