gilbert-martinez
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The baddies of City of Heroes' First Ward
City of Heroes' villains are some of the most memorable across the genre, so it's no wonder superhero fans are anxious to see whom (or what) they'll be fighting once CoH goes free-to-play later this year. To that end, Paragon Studios' art lead, Gilbert Martinez, has penned a dev diary over on PC Gamer that details four of the villain groups players will encounter in the upcoming First Ward zone. First up are the mystics of the Carnival of Light, the perfect counterpoint to the existing Carnival of Shadows. These new Carnies are much better dressed and seek to "restore the balance of good and evil" in Praetoria. They're followed by the Direct Urban Strike Team (D.U.S.T.) units, elite PPD members with rugged armor and enormous plasma rifles that are surely not compensating for anything. If you're into tentacles, you'll love the failed Seer experiments known as the Awakened. And finally, the dreadful, harpy-like Talons of Vengeance embrace "themes of vengeance, magic, and the embodiment of the apocalypse." Enjoy the new enemies (and their awesome high-detail graphics) at PC Gamer.
City of Heroes art lead contemplates the Hamidon redesign
City of Heroes Freedom brings not only changes to the payment model of the premiere superhero MMO but also to the art design for some of the existing creatures. In a developer diary posted on PC Gamer, Art Lead Gilbert Martinez explains the process behind creating a new threatening version of the Hamidon. One of our goals for the new Praetorian incarnations of Hamidon was to raise their threat level while keeping them tied visually to the original blob-like mass players are familiar with. We felt that it was important to design these creatures in a way that emphasized their power and scale and made it clear that they are worthy of going toe-to-toe with the all-powerful Tyrant. Martinez does not explain if this new incarnation of the monster will take 50+ heroes to defeat like its predecessor, but we are looking at a completely different creature than the former giant congealed mass. PC gamer hosts the whole diary on its website, which includes new screenshots of the Hamidon and a gigantic monster called the Shivan from the redesigned tutorial. And next week, City of Heroes hosts two panels at PAX. Massively will have reporters on the scene giving you the latest news for Paragon City!
City of Heroes offers an Issue 20 overview and development journal
PAX East is just around the corner, and it marks the second east coast appearance of the Paragon Studios team. Last year the developers had an upcoming expansion to preview, but this year nevertheless promises to still have plenty of revelations for the City of Heroes fans, starting with the new Issue 20 overview page available today. Aside from the two known Incarnate Trials, the page also previews two new task forces for characters in the 20-40 range as well as more respec trials available for heroes or villains who change alignment. If the overview alone isn't enough to get you fired up for the upcoming Issue 20, the latest installment of the Intrepid Informer previews one of the new areas designed for the patch: a fortress made of lashed-together ships. Gilbert Martinez, one of the game's art leads, explains the process that led to creating an evocative new piece of scenery. City of Heroes players have plenty to look forward to in the near future, not the least of which being an upcoming patch with some pretty interesting content.
