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A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Rounding up May's superhero news
Today marks the start of a new format for A Mild-Mannered Reporter, but it's a natural segue because this is what I'd be doing anyway. Yes, it's time for a roundup of news, and over the past month, most of the news has been about two superheroic games hitting the "action" button until it falls off. It's all about Marvel Heroes and Infinite Crisis, in other words. Not that these are the only two games that have been doing things, mind you. Both Champions Online and DC Universe Online have brought out some new content, although the volume differs. But the biggest waves are being made by games emphasizing the punching of villains with extreme prejudice. Or the punching of heroes; it's a fine line. The point is that there is no finer time to round up superhero news, especially with the return of ComicsAlliance. So let's move on to the roundup, taking it point by point.
Perfect World creates its own gaming platform
Is your gaming world a Perfect World? If you're one of the publisher's legion of players, then prepare to encounter Perfect World's latest initiative. It's called Arc, and it's a gaming platform that seeks to tie together PWE's account system, games, and news. Similar to Steam, Origin, and other such digital distribution platforms, Arc will allow players to install and access games through a unified interface (assuming, of course, that the only games you're going to want to play are PWE's). Arc uses players' current login information to access it and offers access to billing, support, friend messaging, and coupons. There's also a browser so you can check out the forums and whatnot, although if you really need a gaming platform to do that for you in 2013, one has to wonder how you're reading this in the first place.
Champions' Forum Malvanum alert now live
Have you ever wanted to battle for galactic glory on the moon? Now you can thanks to Champions Online's Forum Malvanum alert. The new content just went live, and Cryptic says that player heroes will need to "defeat some of the the most dangerous monsters and gladiators from around the universe" in order to become champions of the Lunar Games. "The Lunar Games include ten rounds of enemies, with some variation in each run," according to Cryptic's announcement post. "Heroes who complete the first five rounds are guaranteed a prize as worthy competitors. More rewards will be granted by Tateklys for defeating the time-limited sixth through tenth rounds, including a climactic final fight with Firewing himself, reigning champion of the Games. Rewards include costume pieces, resources and more." [Thanks Matixzun!]
Champions Online brings back the Bloodmoon event and prepares for space gladiators
Players of Champions Online, rejoice! The Bloodmoon has risen once again, and dark and dire perils threaten Millennium City. From this Thursday at 3:01 p.m. EDT until Tuesday at 2:59 a.m. EDT, you'll be able to hop into the action and bathe in the blood of your ghoulish enemies. Do ghouls have blood? We'll assume so. Did you know that there are aliens hiding on the dark side of the moon? Of course you did! But here's the thing: There are also aliens hiding on the dark side of the moon in Champions Online. They've been kidnapping heroes from earth to fight in their lunar gladiatorial arena. Soon, the Forum Malvanum custom alert will be open to any Earthling brave enough to step up to the challenge. Skip below the cut to catch a bit of history on what the Bloodmoon is all about.
A Mild-Mannered Reporter: How Champions Online could get its groove back
It's hard to be a fan of Champions Online right now. The game has not been in a good state for pretty much any of its life cycle, but as I've discussed previously, its woes have really come into focus lately. It's been a long time since the game really sat down and advanced any sort of story, and it's been even longer since the game offered players something new in the endgame. When Cryptic has two other games with lots of ambition and promise, Champions Online is left looking like the unwanted sibling. Part of the problem is the fact that CO currently has a skeleton crew working on it and a minimal budget. I suspect (without having hard numbers) that it's at the same sort of uneasy place as Vanguard was for a long while -- making just enough money to justify its continued operation while not making enough money for additional development staff. So with all of that in place, what can the game do to prop itself up a bit more without requiring a huge infusion of additional money? How can Champions Online get its act back together?
Second Wind: Champions Online
I remember playing and disliking Champions Online when it first came out. My wife and I had the same reaction when we both thought it looked funky and played oddly. It was as though the game was attempting to be some sort of kitschy '60s-inspired comic book game, so it was hard to take it seriously. It just wasn't that much fun. Granted, that was a long time ago, and since then the title has changed hands, been patched up, and been smoothed over. I've played it off and on since my first experience but always felt it lacked... something. I knew I needed to give it a second chance, and what better avenue to do it in than this very column? I've been really diving into it over the past few weeks, and I've discovered that the game is actually really good. And really fun. And that it looks good! I streamed it live just to double check, and sure enough, the game holds up well and made me so happy that I continued to try it out. I even subscribed! (Will wonders never cease?) So today, I want to tackle the game from a fresh, newbier perspective than the one taken in our weekly superhero column, A Mild-Mannered Reporter, where Eliot has been chronicling the playerbase's frustration with the game's content-update shortcomings. Be sure to check out the embedded livestream later in the article. It really shows off how fun the game can be, as well as covers some of its finer details. %Gallery-185352%
A Mild-Mannered Reporter: A super month in super news
Having spent the last couple of weeks systematically irritating the makers of every superheroic MMO currently on the market, I think now seems like a perfect time to go trawling for recent news and views. Especially since I am writing this on April 1st to meet my deadline, so there's a day-long moratorium on any real news being posted. (That Kickstarter of ours is very real, though. You need to give us money right now.) Of course, the big news was a completely unexpected announcement that came out right after PAX East concluded: Another challenger is entering the arena, and it's something no one could have seen coming without insider information. Meanwhile, Marvel Heroes announced its launch date days after I had speculated on what that might be, and Champions Online is gearing up to kick off another event. So let's get talking about all the superhero news that's been going down since the last roundup.
One Shots: Winning is half the battle
If knowledge is half the battle, what's the other half? Winning, duh. It's certainly not flaky pastries or erotic roleplaying. You got to win the game's face off, and when you're done, you should pose for a commemorative photo like Reader Ralph here: "This shot was taken just minutes from the end," he wrote to us. "After several fierce battles, our team of AFS soldiers succeeded in taking over the last Bane encampment! The Earth was ours again! WE WON! And then our universe winked out of existence, and Tabula Rasa was no more." You won and you lost? Ralph, you officially broke the universe with that. Read on for more exciting player screenshots in today's edition of One Shots.
A Mild-Mannered Reporter: So what's the deal with Champions Online?
Let's be honest here. Champions Online is not in a good state. A couple of weeks back I wrote about how expecting a limited-time event to flesh out the game's endgame is silly to say the least, and I stand by that. But there are two issues under discussion here, and the second is "does the game need more content?" The answer, right now, is an emphatic yes. An event isn't the place to go looking for that content necessarily, but this is still a pretty significant problem, and the game certainly doesn't look as if it's fast approaching its fourth year of operation (and it is). So what happened? It's no secret that the game launched to some pretty poor reception, but that doesn't account for the way that the game has been managed since then, especially when its free-to-play conversion has by all indications been reasonably successful. So why is it that after nearly half the lifespan of City of Heroes it still feels like a game that just recently launched?
Exclusive: Champions Online challenges players to take on the Forum Malvanum
Champions Online players have just braved a full-scale invasion in the appropriately named Lemurian Invasion event. So now the superheroes of Millennium City get to take a long weekend and possibly head to the beach, right? Hardly. A new challenge approaches in the form of the upcoming Forum Malvanum event, throwing heroes into a pitched arena battle run by a mysterious alien race. But it's not quite what you might think. The aliens behind these gladiatorial games have been running challenges across the galaxy for quite some time, and they've now invited Earth's champions to participate. Should the heroes emerge victorious, they'll reap the rewards of galaxy-spanning wealth and power. Not that you can expect the games of an intergalactic race obsessed with bloodsports to be particularly fair... Leaving aside the perpetual nightmare that is a superhero's life, this even promises to offer several additions for players. Aside from the almost mandatory new lockbox, the event will contain new content including an arena showdown and a mission focused around a high-speed race. We also had a chance to sit down and ask producer Tom Edwards a few more questions about the upcoming event. Read on! %Gallery-17946%
Champions Online dev blog goes behind-the-scenes of the Lemurian Invasion
Last week, Champions Online's Lemurian Invasion event hit the live servers, and since then players have been valiantly fighting to defend the world against the alien forces. But as the latest Champions devblog notes, "an invasion force like the Lemurians doesn't come out of nowhere." With that in mind, Cryptic has released a brand-new devblog that takes players behind the curtain for a look at the making of the Lemurian invasion. In the post, Champions Online's new Live Producer, Tom "Lord Gar" Edwards, takes players on a brief tour of the process behind creating a live event. Edwards details all of the hard work that went into the Lemurian Invasion, from the event's initial conception to 3-D models, animations, and playtesting. But perhaps more importantly, he takes a few paragraphs to talk about the future: "[In] the first half 2013, [Cryptic's] plan is to release several story arcs of a similar scale to the Lemurian invasion." He adds that "each arc will have a lockbox, some smaller missions, and then a larger mission at the end." According to Edwards, each mission will " have its own themed rewards and new items [that will] sometimes focus on character improvements, and some on vehicles." Champions' next arc will involve "gladiatorial combat" and will focus on the aforementioned character improvements. Edwards promises that more info is coming soon. Until then, how about heading over to the Champions Online devblog for all the tasty Lemurian Invasion details? [Thanks to Matixzun for the tip!]
Ask Cryptic and ye shall receive -- Champions Online answers, that is
At the end of February, Champions Online posted an "Ask Cryptic" thread, inviting players to query devs about anything on their minds. And plenty did, filling 14 pages with burning questions such as will past events like Nighthawk ever return, can we get vehicle vs. vehicle battlegrounds, and have you tried bacon jerky? Producer Tom Edwards and the Champion's dev team answered these -- yes, good idea, and "Why would you do this to me?" respectively -- along with many others. Although not all questions could be individually addressed, Edwards touched on as many as possible. Want to hear about land vehicles (yes, they are coming), adjusted lockbox drop rates, or the plans for a story arc throughout 2013? Then check out the full answer session on the official site.
A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Champions Online, Lemurian events, and you
Every so often, I'm told that I don't understand an issue under discussion, and it's entirely true. There are a lot of issues out there, and the best I can do is get some of the information, form an opinion, and then change that opinion based upon new information. So I do my best, but I'm going to be wrong sometimes. Other times I'm told I don't understand an issue when I actually do, and the problem is that the issue under discussion is not the most relevant issue. So let's talk a little bit more about Champions Online and the Lemurian Invasion. If you haven't been paying attention, this spawned a little bit of controversy among the playerbase and more when I said that the people raising a stink were wrong. They still are, even if they're also right about an unconnected issue I only brushed against before.
The Lemurian Invasion of Champions Online is going out with a splash
Invaders from the deep have threatened Champions Online players for a while now, but it's time to deep-six the Lemurian threat for good. The latest patch to the game is giving players a chance to do just that with a new queued event capping off the multi-week invasion, providing a fight against evil for fabulous new toys. Or you can buy new toys, if that's more your speed. The Lemurian forces are trying to summon something enormous to overtake Millennium City, and high-level players will be pitted against the bulk of this army and its ominiously named Bleak Harbinger. Fail, and Millennium City falls. Succeed, and you might be able to pick up a Lemurian hovertank. Oh, and the city won't be destroyed. There are also new hoverbikes available from both the Drifter and the C-Store, helping ensure that heroes who want to take on the invasion will have good equipment to do so before it ends on March 27th. [Thanks to matixzun for the tip!]
A Mild-Mannered Reporter: News from around the superheroic world
I've been talking about superhero games in the conceptual state over the past few weeks, which has been great for those of us who really enjoy that sort of thing. (I also got some very nice feedback from the folks at Missing Worlds Media regarding last week's article, so that's also keen.) But there are two titles in the genre already out, plus one that's not yet out but is rapidly approaching launch. So rather than speak in the abstract, let's talk about the news in review, yes? Marvel Heroes has been making the biggest waves recently with a major beta update that trimmed up systems, changed statistics, and revamped crafting extensively. Champions Online's latest event became a point of some contention when the finale was swapped from being a high-end event to being something for everybody. And DC Universe Online waited until I had just wrapped up my month in the game to launch a big update including housing. So in no particular order, let's talk about all of this.
A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Shall I play the villain?
Superheroes are defined by their villains. A lot of what makes Spider-man and Batman such celebrated characters is the fact that they've got no shortage of interesting opponents. DC Universe Online knew this when it launched and gave players a villainous option right from the beginning, something that even City of Heroes didn't manage until its first expansion. Not that this is the norm. Admittedly, calling anything the "norm" in a subgenre with only three launched games to go by is a bit complicated, but that's not the point. Champions Online doesn't let you take a walk on the villain side, and Marvel Heroes will launch without the ability to play a villain now or (presumably) ever. This seems a bit odd on some level. We like villains, we interact with villains as readers, we enjoy seeing what the villains will do. But does it diminish a game to lack the option, or does it diminish villains as a whole when you can play as one?
A Mild-Mannered Reporter Extra: Interviews with Champions Online and The Phoenix Project
I promised you that we would be doing interviews next time, but astute readers would note that I did not say "next week." So welcome to our special extra installment of the column looking at two different sides following the City of Heroes shutdown. We've already seen two projects coming from the ashes of CoH; The Phoenix Project and Heroes and Villains are both currently being assembled by passionate fans of the now-departed game. But we'd be remiss if we failed to note the impact that the game's closure has had on existing games like Champions Online and DC Universe Online. Rather than just speculating on any of this, we decided to just ask. So today you've got two interviews. One is with Brad Stokan, Executive Producer at Cryptic Studios, about how the City of Heroes shutdown has affected Champions Online and the studio that helped bring the game to life in the first place. The other is with the lead staff at Missing Worlds Media, the team behind The Phoenix Project. So let's take a look behind the scenes, yes?
Cryptic prepping new Champions 'mega-event'
Cryptic has tweaked its Champions Online website with news of a forthcoming in-game event. First up is a rather mysterious in-character blurb and an associated discussion thread. The shenanigans are scheduled to begin on January 11th, and Cryptic will be giving away free costume pieces to celebrate. The "mega-event" will feature new adventures released every couple of weeks that include new missions and new items, and the festivities will eventually culminate in a custom alert. Cryptic is also touting its Grav Bike Arsenal lockbox. You'll find more info on that at the official Champions website.
A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Farewell for now, Champions Online
So I've spent a month in Champions Online, and I've taken enough time to understand most of how the game fits together on a conceptual level. This is from equal parts playing and reading about the game in various places because I just do that for fun. Those of you who were here for my first outing will remember that I was pleased with the game as a whole. Upon further play, though, my impression has... well, remained pretty darn positive. This is not one of those twist endings. Of course, I can also see why the game never quite hit the level of widespread popularity that City of Heroes managed, and some of the problems that plague it are a direct result of what I like about it. So with my first outing in the game out of the way, I'm going to offer a more complete look at the game, starting with the bad and ending with the good.
A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Tips for City of Heroes refugees in Champions Online
Champions Online has been a breath of fresh air for the past couple of weeks. It's not a perfect game, nor is it a perfect substitute for City of Heroes, but it's a remarkably good approximation. I would imagine that most players familiar with the latter will feel fairly comfortable in the former, once they get over the obvious differences between the two. Not that the hurdles are exactly minor. For all that I've grown fond of Champions Online, it still has a lot of strange fiddly bits, doing with six different systems what most games do with two or three. Just jumping in cold, as I did, can leave you looking around aimlessly and quite possibly result in your making some choices regarding character builds that you swiftly regret. As I also did. So here are a few tips for players new to the game, tilted in no small part to anyone coming over from our dearly departed CoH. I can't keep you from making every mistake, but I can at least help you get a feel for the game's systems in some small part.
