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Distro Issue 19: Peter Rojas plays 20 questions and Zach Honig boards Boeing's 787 Dreamliner
If you caught our release of Distro for Android tablets, you know we're in the mood for giving. In keeping with that sentiment, issue 19 ushers in two new weekly (and exclusive) features: "Recommended Reading," a guide to the best writing happening outside of our fine publication(s), and "Q&A," our take on the Proust questionnaire, answered this week by Engadget founder Peter Rojas. Of course no issue of Distro would be complete without a generous collection of reviews, and this one's packed full: Zach Honig takes a ride on Boeing's 787 Dreamliner, Richard Lai covers Meizu's MX, Dana Wollman puts Samsung's Series 7 Slate PC through its paces, Tim Stevens tackles the Motorola Xyboard 8.2 and last, but most definitely not least, we examine Verizon's LTE Galaxy Nexus. It may not be your own private Watson, but it might just give you something to do between swigs of eggnog. So hit the appropriate download link and enjoy. Distro Issue 19 PDF Distro on the iTunes App Store Distro in the Android Market Distro APK (for sideloading) Like Distro on Facebook Follow Distro on Twitter
Looking back on busy times for City of Heroes with the development staff
There's been so much going on with City of Heroes over the past few months -- we've seen a new spin on older content and the anniversary and the new endgame system engaging the game's players in new content. It's a lot to take in all at once, and it's easier to process when you have the chance to talk it over with some of the development staff. During a special NCsoft event, our own Bree Royce had just such a chance to get some questions answered directly by the development team about Issue 20, the Incarnate system, and the state of the game both at present and going forward. Matt Miller and Nate Birkholz shared reflections on what has worked and what has gone a bit awry in the development, something that should be of interest to every City of Heroes player. Sadly, the discussion does not include any zombie catgirls -- just the parts that worked and the parts that wound up being problems.
A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Seven years in the city, part two
Welcome back to the second part of our look back through the past year of City of Heroes. The last installment, in case you missed it, discussed the first two issues that went live over the past year, Issue 17 and Issue 18. And here's a quick recap: They were pretty awesome, but they were lacking much for the high-end portion of the game. This time we're turning our gaze forward to the later two issues, the good and the bad. And there was some bad that came with these updates, a certain level of unavoidable badness. I called this part of the game's history the fall of the unleveled empire, and while I don't think we've quite obtained empire status, there are those among us -- including me -- who either believed that leveling past a certain point would always be an option or believed at least that level-locking was something that happened to other games. Enough meandering about it -- let's finish up our look at City of Heroes in its seventh year of operation.
A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Linger
So I was originally going to dive into the matter of the next archetype on the list when it hit me that there were two big issues I didn't talk about in my last column, issues that were brought up on or around the PAX panel but weren't directly addressed. And if there's one thing that I'd like to think I'm known for in the City of Heroes community, it's darting off like a hyperactive badger whenever something catches my eye, regardless of what that means for the overall flow or pacing of a column. Being known as a good writer would be nice, too, but I like to keep a broader perspective. So we're going to take a second to talk about two matters that have stuck with us as an overall community -- the low-level game revamp and the mysterious Issue 20 NDA. The latter is especially mysterious because we now know what's in Issue 20, and it's certainly nothing that will rock City of Heroes to its foundations. Far from it -- the issue, while shaping up nicely, is pretty much standard stuff. Why the obfuscation?
PAX East 2011: Shipping up to Boston with City of Heroes
It's only fitting that PAX East 2011 would see another panel for City of Heroes, as last year's convention was the first time the team from Paragon Studios had been to the east coast. While this year's panel didn't see the many announcements and surprising new reveals of last year, it's good to see the team making the trek out to Boston once again in what fans can only hope will be a regular event. As always, the line to get into the panel was gargantuan, with players lining up an hour before the panel doors opened for a seat in the relatively small theater. Once players had filed in and the room had settled down, it was time for a look at the past year or so for City of Heroes and at what players could expect for the near future, as well as the usual lively question-and-answer session.
A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Stricken pack
It's been a while since the Incarnate system went live, and we've had a little time to get used to the ideas that the Issue 19 Strike Pack brought to the table. Not a full shakedown, mind you, but enough to make it clear what the fairly minor addition actually does for the nascent endgame. Whether or not it brings anything positive to City of Heroes is still up for debate. Depending on whom you're talking to, it either nicely handles a few weaknesses of the current Incarnate design or it's a step in a bad direction. As usual, I don't think the answer is anywhere near that simple. The Strike Pack is a good thing in many ways, and not just because of the addition of the higher tiers of Incarnate abilities. I love giving people more reason to run Task Forces, definitely, but if there's a serious problem introduced by this it goes right back to the same endgame problems that City of Heroes has always had, problems that I'm not completely sure even Issue 20 will fix.
City of Heroes launches the Issue 19 Strike Pack
Have you found yourself acquiring the deific power of the Incarnate system too darn slowly? Or have you found yourself stymied as you train up your Alpha Slot abilities, knowing that new tiers will be available but wishing they were available right now? City of Heroes players with either conundrum can take heart in knowing that the Issue 19 Strike Pack has just gone live, adding in solutions to both of these problems for everyone. Players looking for a chance to earn more Incarnate materials every week will be happy with the new Weekly Strike Target, which grants extra rewards to players for the first run of a chosen Task Force and/or Strike Force and badges for players who repeatedly run the target. It also coincides nicely with the expansion of the Alpha Slot, allowing players access to the highest tier of powers available. It's not a bad thing to have extra motivation to run the Task Forces in City of Heroes, and this update offers two excellent incentives.
City of Heroes launching the Strike Pack in February
City of Heroes has been firing on all cylinders for this month's announcements, promising a great deal to come in the next few months. One of those promises was an addition to Issue 19's list of feature in a smaller update, and now that's been both dated and expanded upon. The Strike Pack is due out in early February, and it promises to give players both a chance to improve Incarnate abilities even further and more opportunities to gather the all-important materials for same. According to Black Scorpion, starting with the launch of the Strike Pack, a single co-op Task Force (or a Strike Force and a Task Force) will be designated as a Weekly Strike Target, with characters earning double merits and a special Incarnate item for the first completion in a week. The Incarnate item is the key to unlocking the upper tiers of the Alpha Slot, which apply an effective level shift to your character, allowing said character to count as level 51 for purposes of hitting, missing, dodging, and so forth. Special badges are also promised for running the Weekly Strike Target multiple times, which should help keep City of Heroes active for everyone.
A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Moving forward and upward
As I write this, DC Universe Online's launch is a day away. By the time you're reading it, it'll have already happened. Not coincidentally, I also had a chance to interview Melissa Bianco again, proving once again that Paragon Studios knows full well how to step up its game and strut its stuff when necessary. Unfortunately, this puts me in an awkward position, because there's interesting stuff between the lines of that interview -- but there's also a nagging question that people have been asking me about why I seem to care so much about DC Universe Online. I should note that everyone who has asked that question has done so in such a way as to remind me how wonderful my regular readers are -- polite, respectful, and genuinely curious. Seriously, give yourself a pat on the back; the comments from the column are always a joy. In truth, though, I think the interview partly answers the question. It should be clear from Paragon's burst of new information that the City of Heroes team has been keeping an eye on DC Universe Online, and I take that as a sign that the team knows how to run a darn good game. You can't honestly think it's a coincidence that we got a new groundswell of information and promises of more just before another superhero game launched, can you?
The road ahead for City of Heroes: Our interview with Melissa Bianco
Last year was undeniably a pretty good year for City of Heroes -- it boasted a six-year anniversary, a new expansion, and a newly improved graphical engine to make the game that much more attractive. This year... well, it's still up in the air, but it's still kicking off with a brand-new competitor for the game, which adds a whole host of new challenges for the development team at Paragon Studios to overcome. Not to mention that when you've just come off of a good year, you're faced with the question of what you can possibly do to top it. But the team behind the game is prepared for the challenges of this year and already looks forward to raising the bar again in 2011. We had a chance to talk with Melissa Bianco, lead designer of City of Heroes, about what's coming next for the game and how the team plans to face new and ongoing hurdles. Check on past the break for our talk about potential sequels, the upcoming issues of the game, and what we can expect to start seeing in the next few months.
A Mild-Mannered Reporter: 2010's roguish review
I joked once, long ago, that I should never answer WRUP truthfully, because it will invariably result in a total lack of doing what I announced. Lo and behold, I had the time to play through a single Mission Architect mission amidst an intensely obnoxious virus (just at that level where you're sick enough to know it but not sick enough to avoid work) and the preparation needed to get my house ready for hosting an entire family. For the record? Never agree to do that for your family, no matter who your family is. So instead, we're going to take a look through the big news of the year, the five biggest stories that have affected City of Heroes in the past 12 months. I had originally planned to save this one for next week, but I doubt that we'll get an enormous piece of news between now and next week. It's been an interesting year for the game as a whole, so between an expansion, major updates, and tumultuous times in the larger MMO world, let's look at the five biggest stories pertaining to the city.
Issue 19 goes live in City of Heroes
While World of Warcraft goes through its own world-shattering events, City of Heroes is getting hit hard as well. Issue 19 has just gone live, allowing players to experience the first step of the Praetorian invasion. Luckily, the patch also brings with it the Alpha Slot, empowering players with the first tier of the Incarnate system and allowing characters to stand against the invasion at a heretofore unseen level of power. There's also a surfeit of assorted quality-of-life improvements, not the least of which is the movement of Fitness to a baseline set of powers. Issue 19's features have been getting talked up for some time, so players will likely find many familiar entries among the official patch notes. Most noteworthy is the free respec token that's being given out to all characters, with a second free token being awarded on December 8th for characters who have used the first free token. It's the perfect time for City of Heroes players to log in, get playing, and start fighting back against the Praetorian invaders with all the might they can muster -- and with the new systems, that's quite a lot of might indeed.
A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Community dancing
It's really hard for me to log in to City of Heroes recently, I have to admit. I know there are so many nifty things coming with the next patch that really, I just want to wait for Issue 19. I've got a baby Praetorian brute that will benefit from baseline Fitness to insane degrees, and it's really hard for me to convince myself that I should spend another minute leveling on a character without Stamina like an animal. Of course, I also have really been enjoying the game lately, so it's a difficult balance between the two opposing forces. That certainly hasn't kept me from enjoying the discussion about City of Heroes going down of late, nor has it stopped me from logging in to take part in our livestream event for the game. Click on past the break to see this week's highlighted discussion, and in case you missed the stream, I took the liberty of embedding it right there at the end of the column. If you were already watching, well, you get another chance to listen to my dulcet tones after reading. Aren't you lucky?
A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Points of great divergence
It's been an interesting few weeks leading up to the launch of the Incarnate system, in no small part because it's all been secret knowledge up until now. Yes, you all saw my writeup on the new task force and a quick interview regarding Issue 19 just a couple of days ago, but it happened before then, and I've been sitting on my hands with some knowledge about just what the next evolution would mean for City of Heroes. As a result, I didn't want to talk about it too much -- speculation was pointless, since I knew what the Alpha Slot actually did, and I wasn't allowed to just say it. So what do I think about the Incarnate system? I'm excited about it, obviously -- I'm excited about anything that really takes a new idea and runs with it, and I have a lot of faith in the team doing the development. But at the same time, I can see more than one future lying ahead for the post-Issue 19 City of Heroes, one good, one bad. Armed with the knowledge of the first slot and a loose overview of what's coming, I think now is a time to look at what I see as the two possible outcomes.
The City of Heroes team against the Apex task force
There are times when working with MMOs can be a bit of a mixed bag. You get some hate-filled feedback, you find that one of your major hobbies is now part of your job, and you're either a shill for the company or you're overly negative. And then there are times when you get to run the newest City of Heroes task force with the development team from Paragon Studios, and suddenly you remember why you got into the field in the first place. It's one thing to be told over and over that a task force represents a new high-water mark for City of Heroes, and another thing entirely to start playing it and realize that it's pretty much exactly what was advertised. The first phase of fighting off the Praetorian invasion required fancy footwork, careful play, and learning encounters without being overly tedious. And even aside from that, it featured giant robots and the explanation of the flying swords from the Issue 19 trailer -- both things that turned out to be even more awesome than I had dared to hope.
Paragon Studios answers our questions about Issue 19 of City of Heroes
Just three months after the major upheaval of Going Rogue, City of Heroes is getting another big update in the form of Issue 19. Bringing with it new task forces, the first part of the new Incarnate system, the long-awaited baseline Fitness pool, and several other quality-of-life improvements, the issue is packed to bursting with things for players to enjoy. So we naturally had a few questions, even above and beyond our first impressions of both the Incarnate system and the new Apex task force. Of course, this issue isn't the work of just one or two people within Paragon Studios, but the whole team. So it was fitting that we got our questions about the newest update to City of Heroes answered by several members of the team. Melissa Bianco, Matt Miller, Sean McCann, and Tim Sweeney all took the time to answer some quick questions about the substance of the update, so click on past the break to see our questions and their responses.
City of Heroes developer diary: Challenging the gods
Issue 19 brings a big change to characters in City of Heroes. There's always been a line of thought running through comic books that superheroes are essentially modern deities, but when you start stepping into the Incarnate system, the comparison becomes far more straightforward: You are wielding the powers of gods. Just like Statesman and Lord Recluse, player characters will be empowered beyond the ken of mortals and will begin the road toward a new apex of ability. Of course, when you're making such huge changes to the fabric of the game, you need more than just a quick stir in the patcher. A great deal of work went into elevating characters to deification, and that's precisely what the latest City of Heroes developer diary covers. Tim "Black Scorpion" Sweeney has penned an entry on what went into the design of the Incarnate system, so skip on past the break to see how players go from being mere mortals to Incarnates... within the game, anyhow.
A Mild-Mannered Reporter: The changing of the environment
If I had to make a list of video game characters I hate... well, it would take up a thousand words and then some. (Fuuka Yamagishi would be on there.) But if I just had to make a list of MMO lore characters that I hate... actually, again, it would take up a thousand words and then some. (Tyrande Whisperwind would be on there.) Still, near the top of the list would be one of my least favorite characters from the lore of any game, and appropriately enough it's City of Heroes -- because I really, really hate Statesman. Honestly, before I even knew about his background, Statesman rubbed me the wrong way. But it was only made worse by the fact that he derived his powers from Jack Emmert's ego, thereby giving him nearly limitless everything as long as Emmert was in charge. The comics made him out to be a jerk; the game made him out to be The Best Hero In The World Ever. And through it all there was a subtle reminder that he was the real hero. Your character was great and all, but you weren't really the hero. It was Statesman.
Issues 20 and Incarnates previewed for City of Heroes
If you were one of the lucky fans at the recent City of Heroes meet-and-greet, you were treated to a wealth of information from Paragon Studios about the future of the game. If you weren't, however, you still get a fair slice of luck with today's reveal on the official site about the Incarnate system, complete with lore illustrating the start of what promises to be a far-reaching storyline in the game. We've also gotten a look at the event's presentation on future content, which should give fans plenty to look forward to. The Incarnate system is kicking off with the Alpha Slot in Issue 19, which will be focused on wide-ranging enhancements to all of a character's powers. Unlike Enhancements, Incarnate abilities can be slotted and removed without destroying them. Each slot will have several branches that players can explore as well, allowing for a great deal of character customization. Moreover, the most powerful Incarnate abilities allow characters to improve their effective level in battle past the cap. You can head to the official site for more details on the next major system of City of Heroes -- or you can take a look at the gallery for a preview of what's coming and the slides which give us a sneak peek at a new warehouse map, new costume pieces, and the trials of Issue 20. %Gallery-107010%
City of Heroes dev diary: Dr. Aeon's Guide on How to Make a Proper Interdimensional Invasion
With the upcoming Issue 19, City of Heroes is bringing in the long-awaited Incarnate system, the first step in improving and honing the powers of characters who have already reached the level cap. Of course, that would be rather unbalancing if there wasn't something new to challenge the newly-empowered characters, but the whole invasion of Praetoria into Paragon City and the Rogue Isles should give even the new Incarnates something challenging to handle. Two task forces are being added to challenge characters that have reached the apex of power. So how exactly does one craft a new invasion in City of Heroes? We were lucky to get a brand-new developer diary from Sean "Dr. Aeon" McCann detailing how the Apex and Tin Mage task forces came into existence, from the challenges it presented in design to the result of all that hard work. Take a look past the cut to check out the diary, wherein we get a full rundown of how one launches an interdimensional war. (In the game, at least. Actual aggression against other dimensions is not covered.)
