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Champions Online promises lots and lots of adrenaline
A second devlog over at the Champions Online official site gives a little glimpse of what we can expect to find ourselves playing once this new superhero MMO hits our hard disk drives. Titled, "Furious Action, Off-the-Charts Adrenaline" Our initial impression was to put on a gas-mask and some fly-fishing boots in preparation. However, after reading through the article our demeanor softened -- just a little. It's a bit reassuring to know that there are still developers out there willing to take some risks in the design of their games. They seem to have gone with an all out action-sounding combat system, where players don't use an auto-attacks or recharge abilities. Beyond that it's pretty vague, so we're left to the guessing game.
Jack Emmert explains Cryptic's Champions choice
When the news hit that Cryptic Studios' next massively game would be Champions Online, a lot questions cropped up about what we could expect from the game. One of the biggest questions or the only question for some players -- is why? Jack Emmert explains in the first developer blog post on the new official CO website. In the end, it wasn't anything surprising that made Jack stand up and say, "Lets do Champions." It was something incredibly logical and a bit nostalgia-fueled as well, but in a good way.
The Daily Grind: What tabletop games would make good MMOs?
One of the tidbits of news that made many of us happy here this week was the claim (and yesterday's follow-up statement) that the MMO underway at Cryptic is most likely a Champions MMO. If the sheer geekgasm that occured amongst many veteran tabletop players is any indication, careful planning and design will likely make this a winning title, drawing quite a bit of player-base to it. Of course, this got us to thinking about some of the tabletop games we've played, and in turn this brought up a variety of interesting IPs that could be optioned for a MMO. Today we thought we'd ask you -- if given your choice of all the different tabletop RPG systems out there, which do you want to see as an MMO? Are there any particular rulesets that you think would lend themselves more readily to the workings of an MMO? Are there any niche games that the world never picked up, but would be fantastic for an MMO?
Dave Perry 'stunned' by Marvel MMO cancellation
Dave Perry believes Microsoft may have made the wrong choice in canceling Cryptic Studio's Marvel Universe MMO. In a recent interview with Eurogamer, the Shiny Entertainment founder expresses his surprise at the decision to halt the game's development, saying it was "absolutely stunning."According to Perry, the Marvel license easily eclipses the mass-market popularity of World of Warcraft, and for that reason could be an actual competitor to Blizzard's behemoth. Though he is disappointed by Microsoft's decision, he understands that the cancellation was likely due to financial concerns, as it's difficult for large companies to ascertain whether sizable investments in MMOs will ever see any return.Dave Perry is currently developing free-to-play MMOs at Acclaim, as well as tackling a number of side projects, including the direction of a entirely user-generated racing game. We like your ambition, Mr. Perry, but we do recommend picking a less intense photo for your "about" page (as seen above). It scares us a little.
Goodbye Marvel MMO, Hello Champions Online
With the Marvel MMO officially dead and buried, what's a poor Superhero-MMO developer to do? Turns out that Cryptic Studios, creators of City of Heroes, City of Villains, (and would-be creators of Marvel Unniverse Online) already has another project going. That explains why we've been in the dark about the Marvel MMO for so long, Cryptic's been busy with another project! That new project is called Champions Online and is based on the old-school tabletop RPG of the same name (sans "online"). Champions is still a superhero world, with plenty of customizability that should work great for the world of an MMO. The main character creation mechanic, called the Hero System, allows the player to create custom super-powers. The depth of a tabletop game with the fun of a superhero MMO? Sounds good, though we'll always miss the Marvel MMO. [Via Joystiq]
Rumor: Champions Online's table-top roots confirmed
A forum post by dev team member Steve Long over on the HERO Games official forums has given us pretty convincing evidence that the recently revealed Cryptic MMO Champions Online, is in fact based on the Champions table-top roleplaying game first launched back in 1981. If true, this piece of information gives a slightly more clear view on what kind of game we can expect Champions Online to become.There's definitely some exciting possibilities with the system offered by Champions, which has arguably one of the most flexible rule set we've ever seen. We're talking custom powers here.
Champions Online = the latest superhero MMO from Cryptic
Hidden away in plain sight at the top of Game Informer's latest cover (yup, the same one showing off Gearbox's Aliens: Colonial Marines) is a small reference to "Champions Online" – the latest MMO from the folks at Cryptic Studios. We know what you're thinking. "Crypic Studios ... where do I know that name?" Cryptic isn't just the name behind the popular (and recently sold) City of Heroes and City of Villains MMOs, but it was also recently attached to Microsoft's now confirmed-to-be-canceled Marvel Universe Online MMO. The subject matter of Champions Online? You guessed it: superheroes. Whether Champions Online is stitched together from remnants of the canceled 360-exclusive Marvel MMO or made from a brand-new cape, Game Informer does say the new title will target consoles (plural) and PCs. In which case Cryptic will be competing directly with their previous tight-clad creation on the PC side (awkward) and – with NCsoft looking to announce their first PS3-bound console title later this year – the console space should prove quite competitive as well. Excelsior! [Via Eurogamer]
Marvel MMO officially put to rest
I have to confess, I had been holding out hope over the last couple months that the rumors circulating of Marvel Universe Online's imminent cancellation would prove to be unfounded. The very idea of a Marvel-endorsed super-hero game being developed by the guys at Cryptic to be released on the Xbox 360 platform was almost too much for my fanboy heart to handle. Alas, it was not to be. Steven Totilo of MTV's multiplayer blog sat down with Microsoft's Shane Kim to talk, among other things, about the cancellation.Kim first confirmed that the cancellation rumor was true, and stressed that the decision to cease development was amicable on all sides. He cited the competitiveness of the MMO market as the primary reason for cancellation. Evidently, Microsoft felt that they couldn't make a sufficient profit to justify the costs of development using a traditional subscription-based model. He also said the game was too far along in development to switch to another business model, like an ad-supported or RMT model. Perhaps the only silver lining in this story is that Cryptic is now free to develop new IPs. Those, of course, will have to wait until Cryptic's media blackout ends.
The Digital Continuum: A Cryptic future
These days, if you don't keep your head down, a rumor about Cryptic Studios is bound to hit you in the face. In fact, quite a few of them probably already have at this point. It all started with a letter to the community. After that plural hit, it wasn't just Marvel Universe Online that people were chattering about, but upcoming "projects" from Cryptic Studios as well. Ever since they managed to take one of my favorite things in the world -- superheroes -- and turn that world into a fun and successful massively game, I've loved the people at Cryptic.So it was with plenty of excitement that I discovered Cryptic would be handling the Marvel Comics license for their next massively game. Unfortunately for all of us excited fans -- of Cryptic, Marvel or both -- the entire operation went into super-secret-silent mode. Aside from CoX news, (which came from a different team at Cryptic, now NCsoft NorCal) we haven't heard even a faint murmur of information. After a while, this leads to lots of speculation about whether or not Marvel Universe Online is canceled. So far, there still hasn't been any additional official information on the game and all we are left to is pure speculation.What could be in the future for Cryptic Studios? Nobody knows except them, but that shouldn't stop anyone from guessing.
Rumor: Cryptic only wants talent from Perpetual, not a license
Put another checkmark in the evidence column for Star Trek Online not going to Cryptic Studios. Trekmovie.com reports that while Cryptic was in talks with Perpetual, they very likely were only trying to pick up new talent for their work on Marvel Universe Online, not looking to pick up a whole new license.Of course, this doesn't confirm or deny anything-- Cryptic hasn't said they aren't doing it, and the truth is that there may not be someone chosen to do it yet. We're still in the rumors and speculation mode (and isn't it fun?). But the original report-- that the license is going to a developer in the Bay Area-- still stands.Meanwhile, Star Trek fans have to keep holding their breath, and hoping that this game gets made by the right people to make it.[Via CSG, who's right-- whoever's doing it, at least it's not Perpetual]
Rumor: New STO developers being Cryptic
Word has come down the wires from Jester at w00tstudios that Cryptic is the as-yet-unnamed developer in the Bay Area who have taken on the Star Trek Online title from Perpetual Studios. Now, admittedly we can't confirm this, as Cryptic decided to enter "radio" silence some time back in the intent of working on some new projects. That said, after looking around, we found only a handful of MMO developers in that area that we thought could likely pull it off: Cryptic Studios -- Possible. They brought us City of Heroes and City of Villains, so you could argue that they've done sci-fi already. Also, with the cash they landed in selling the CoX properties to NCsoft, they could certainly afford to snag the license. Of course, there is that troubling thing about MUO being MIA. (And the nasty rumors saying we won't likely ever see it.) Linden Lab -- Extremely unlikely -- and you can stop laughing now. There again, we have to admit, Mudd's Women and the Orion slave girls would fit in splendidly on-grid. NCsoft North -- Possible. They've got the money, and the only thing we've heard for sure out of that office was ongoing CoX development. The job listings look interesting, too. EA -- They've bought up some MMO companies. That would be a cherry IP to land to go with them. It might actually be a good game, too. Of course, that's assuming they'd give it enough time to be developed properly. Most of their job listings are for Sims, though. We'll remain cautiously optimistic, as Cryptic is definitely a company with great vision and style. Hopefully they'll opt to break their self-imposed silence and let us know if they did indeed pick up Star Trek Online. Until then, we're still keeping our fingers crossed that the eventual developers remember that we really really want to be able to play as a Klingon. Q'apla![Thanks, Jester!]
The Digital Continuum: Concerning superpowers
It's been a long time since City of Heroes launched and up to the sale of the CoX property to NCsoft, Cryptic Studios added quite a bit more into the game. Not just City of Villains with its slew of additional content but also additional levels, tailors for extra costumes/costume redesigns, epic archetypes, plenty of new zones, PvP elements, game balances, new powers, an item system that allows players to invent all sorts of things and even an alien invasion or two. Just recently players were given with another set of new powers that they themselves were able to help choose via the official forums! While that laundry list of additions is quite well and good, for me it still feels like something is missing from my super hero game.Largely, I think the problem lies with what the game engine is and isn't capable of rendering. The recent inclusion of customizable melee weapons and guns/bows has made me realize something. What about the guy who shoots fire or throws punches full of pure energy? What if I want to create a magic character ala Dr. Strange and green magical fire sounds really cool to me? Well too bad, my fire looks like everyone's boring red fire and there's not a thing that I can do about it. Yet in a game where customization is king, personal touches like green fire or red and purple energy blasts seem to me an incredibly important feature. I've paid a lot more than one or two months of subscription fees just to design myself some characters in CoX and I only manage to get them to around level 14. Just imagine how much more money and time someone would spend given further customization choices.
One Shots: Introducing Rikti
Apparently yesterday's display from City of Heroes has inspired some of our readers to send in their City of Villains action shots. We highly encourage this sort of friendly competition -- because thus far it has resulted in some incredible screenshots.This shot was taken top of the arena in Port Oakes during one of the recent Rikti Invasions. Now that's something you don't see every day...Do you have any screenshots that capture the chaos of combat in your MMO of choice? We want to see them for our next One Shots! We can only post what you send us -- so send your screenshots and stories to oneshots@massively.com. You may see it featured here tomorrow, same time, same place! %Gallery-9798%
One Shots: It's all in the glow
One of the things I love about City of Heroes (and City of Villains!) is the wide variety of graphical effects each of its skills has. You use abilities to fight in every MMO on the market, but so often attacks are represented as generic flashes of light, sometimes in different colors -- in CoX the various powers all have a distinct look. (Can't you just imagine trainers explaining, "You've almost got it, just a shade more green, with a few more sparkles. Right, that's it!") In this shot, passed on by our own Jonathan Northwood, I'm going to let you guess what power is being used, though!One Shots survives on a steady diet of your screenshots and stories! We want to see the places you've been and the people you met across this vast MMO-space. Share your gaming stories with us by send your screenshots to oneshots@massively.com. Tomorrow you could find your shot and story featured here! %Gallery-9798%
Rumormill: Marvel Universe Online canceled?
If you've been following non-MMOG news of late, you've probably heard all the speculation about possible canceled Xbox 360 titles. The whole thing was spurred by Shane Bettenhausen in a recent 1up Yours podcast, where he said, 'a big Microsoft first-party title that has been in the works for a very long time, that people are very excited for, sounds like it's being canceled.' Massively's sister site Joystiq has reported that the canceled game isn't Fable 2, or Alan Wake, or Too Human, or ... Banjo-Kazooie. 1up's news editor Patrick Klepek has since stepped back up to the mic to specify that an anonymous source tipped them to the possible cancellation of Cryptic's Marvel Universe Online. Not just relying on the un-verifyable source information, Klepek goes on to note the numerous opportunities Cryptic has had to crow about the game, and didn't.
CoX's Sean "Manticore" Fish returns from hiatus
As an unexpected benefit of NCsoft's recent acquisition of City of Heroes, old friend and story designer Sean "Manticore" Fish has returned to the public light, retaking his position as a contributor to the lore and overall story for City of Heroes. About a year ago, Manticore took a position working on an unnamed MMO project within NCsoft. By virtue of the relationship between Cryptic and NCsoft at the time, this meant that his contributions to the CoX franchise were indirect, if there indeed were any at all. Now that the franchise is secure in NCsoft's loving embrace, the erstwhile developer can finally be an open part of the community again, though curiously we've learned little about what he's being doing in the interim.The general consensus on the official forum is a resounding "HUZZAH!" If you feel like giving Manticore some welcome back love, head over to the official forum thread and say hello. It's sure been a great week for the CoX community, hasn't it?
