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A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Death to the warehouse map!
If you've played City of Heroes from levels 1 to anything, you already know the map I'm talking about. The more levels you've been through, the more you've seen it. Heck, you probably knew exactly what map I was talking about just from the subject line, because... well, it's the warehouse map. As I was thinking about this week's column, I was trying to figure out why it is that City of Heroes gets criticized as often as it does for being "repetitive." I'd gladly concede the point, but the follow-up question becomes, well, what's so inherently different between the gameplay here as opposed to World of Warcraft, or EverQuest II, or Lord of the Rings Online, or even Dungeons and Dragons Online? How is killing X of critter Y for questgiver Z in any way less repetitive than punching the Fifth Column around for the hundredth time? But with the recent addition of Melissa "War Witch" Bianco as lead designer, with her promises of "more content," I formed at least part of an idea of why that pointless accusation will not go away. And I believe the blame can be laid squarely at the feet of that stupid warehouse map.
City of Heroes announces holiday contest winners
As Christmas recedes into memory, it's easy to forget about the stress of the various celebrations and just remember the nicer parts of the holiday. For our characters in City of Heroes, of course, the holidays saw yet another onslaught by elemental minions of ice seeking to spread permanent winter. But the pot was sweetened a touch by the addition of the holiday contest, a chance for players to decorate their base or alter their costume in such a way that they became a bit more seasonally appropriate. Just a bit over a month out, the winners of the contest have been announced, and it takes only a quick glance at the artistry involved to see why. Bases were transformed from fortresses of solitude into... well, they were still sort of fortresses of solitude, but now they had appropriate decorations hanging from the icicles. Meanwhile, characters were transformed into crime-fighting ski bunnies and workshop elves. Giving City of Heroes players a chance to work their creativity almost always results in some excellent material, so feel free to take a look at the official page listing the winners and screenshots of each.
A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Community guide to City of Heroes
Welcome to A Mild-Mannered Reporter, Massively's new weekly column all about City of Heroes! We were originally going to spin you a dynamic yarn about how I had watched my parents die, then spent years training in secret to strike fear into the hearts of criminals by writing about video games, but that was eliminated during the concept stage due to copyright infringement. Instead, we're just going with a column. For our first installment, we're highlighting a number of sites that are useful in one way or another to the City of Heroes playerbase. While the game has enjoyed quite a lifespan, the web presence on it has been a bit more limited than some other games, probably due in no small part to the fact that it's much easier to simply pick up and play. That doesn't mean there's nothing here, though -- the community has developed a number of excellent tools and community gathering points to improve everyone's experience in Paragon City or the Rogue Isles. Take a look at what we've looked at and see as the highlights.
City of Heroes announces next guest authors
Back in October, City of Heroes players got a treat in the form of three arcs created by high-profile creative minds. The Guest Author program used the Mission Architect system and gave players the enjoyment of working through missions scripted by authors known outside of the realm of Paragon City. We haven't heard much about the program since then, and so it might have seemed as if the feature had been forgotten, but it turns out it was simply in brief hibernation, as the official site has announced the next group of writers. Mercedes Lackey (known for her series of fantasy novels set in Valdemar), Troy Hickman (known for the meta-superhero series Common Grounds), and Austin Grossman (longtime writer of video games and author of Soon I Will Be Invincible) make up the next batch of guest writers crafting their own arcs in City of Heroes. Two of the arcs should be live today (assuming you're reading this on January 26th), according to a small supplementary piece which includes a few words from Sean McCann. It's good to see the game continuing to emphasize and enhance the experience of user-created content, and players should look forward to some high-profile names continuing to take their swing at it.
City of Heroes unveils new lead designer
It's been a quiet week on Lake Salamanca... well, actually, all across City of Heroes, when you get right down to it. For those of us not on the inside, it looked as if nothing of interest was happening with the game. But that's apparently quite far from the truth, since it appears there have been quite a few internal shakeups over the holiday season and most of the month. Matt Miller, longtime lead designer of City of Heroes, has passed the mantle on to Melissa Bianco. Miller is continuing to work on the game, but will be involved in rather vaguely-described endgame systems as well as some undisclosed projects. Bianco (also known as "War Witch" in keeping with the developer nicknaming scheme) has already given an interview on her plans and the state of CoH, with promises of new content before and after Going Rogue goes live. And speaking of Going Rogue, we're promised more frequent pieces of information on the expansion, which has seen very little revealed since its announcement. There's also an opportunity to take part in a community Q&A with Bianco. The quiet week seems to be over... which is really for the best, when you get right down to it.
The community of architects in City of Heroes
If there's one thing that City of Heroes has become known for, it's the Mission Architect system. The player-generated content spans a huge number of adventures, ranging from the silly to the sublime. It's also robust enough in its search function that it's essentially added another venue of content into the game. The official site recently highlighted a feature in The Escapist, interviewing a number of community members and acclaimed users of the system about its ups, downs, and the overall experience. The system has faced a few problems -- abuse of it early on led to bans and some content removal, since it's easy when creating content to be too generous with the rewards and too light with the difficulty. There's also the issue of inappropriate content, and of course the possibility that a large portion of what's available just isn't all that good. The full piece highlights some of the better arcs available (including more than a few Developer's Choice missions, which were selected as being good enough to qualify as official content), as well as the efforts and reasoning behind the more popular creators and what they've built. Matt Miller was quoted as saying that players did in one day with the system what it took the developers five years to accomplish. Quite an argument in favor of player-created content, that.
Why You Should Be Playing City of Heroes: Content on demand
With all the talk about the Skirmish system in Lord of the Rings Online and the World of Warcraft dungeon finder, it's hard to argue that people don't really like having the option to simply pick up and start playing something. Both of these systems thrive on the strength of their pick-up-and-play nature -- you don't have to wait to find a group, you just jump right into content without any slowdown. The obvious question, then, becomes "why didn't someone notice that people like to just jumping in and playing the darn game?" Of course,the full answer is a bit less obvious but no less true: someone did. Several someones, in fact. Paragon Studios and Cryptic before them both realized how much people like to just pick up and go. That's why City of Heroes currently sports three different systems to allow you or a full team access to content quickly, ranging from reliving your character's greatest triumphs to fighting Nazi vampires on the moon.
City of Heroes offers some Hero-Con highlights
If you were one of the many City of Heroes fans who wasn't quite able to make it to Hero-Con, we offer our condolences. Even though you know that the information revealed there gets disseminated as fast as possible, there's still a sense of missing out on something big. And even though that event was a couple months ago, the sting probably hasn't quite worn off yet. But fret not, as Paragon Studios has given you loyal but not-necessarily-traveling fans a little present. There are now several podcasts available on the official site with recordings from the celebrated event. The available podcasts include the opening ceremonies along with the Going Rogue preview, discussions of power and archetype balancing, and the panel regarding the ongoing storyline of the game among others. Audio quality isn't perfect, but for a recording of a live event there's little to complain about. If you'd prefer to listen on the site, there's a built-in player, or if you'd rather have them on your iPod (or other mobile player) they can be downloaded on the same page in MP3 format. It's not quite the same as being there, but it certainly beats missing the experience entirely if you're a longtime fan of City of Heroes.
City of Heroes offers holiday contest
It's holiday time in both Paragon City and the Rogue Isles, and that means it's time for players of City of Heroes to celebrate the occasion. We recently discussed the game's holiday event, which is of course how the characters in the game get to enjoy the start of the winter months. But what about the players behind the keyboard, the ones who may very well have donated to charitable causes and deserve something nice themselves this holiday season? Well, perhaps if you're blessed with a spot of luck and the spirit of the season, you could win some decorations for yourself and your environment in the game's holiday contest. The contest has two categories, for most festive costume and most festively-decorated base, with three winners per category. Prizes include hero and villain pins, some of the limited-edition City of Heroes fifth-anniversary t-shirts, and a few other nice toys. All that's required for entry is to take two screenshots of your character's costume or your decorated base and submit them by January 3rd, which means that everyone in the game has both time an inclination to get into the spirit of things. Read the official rules for more details, and get a little something back for your superhuman antics being seasonally appropriate.
Get your Kung Fu on in City of Heroes
Do you sometimes wish that when everybody is kung fu fighting they didn't all look so alike? NCsoft seems to feel the same way, because they've now made available the City of Heroes Super Booster IV: Martial Arts for ten bucks. Yes, now when you're fighting foes with malicious martial intent you'll look "spiffy" and whatever other adjective you feel like tossing into the equation. The booster comes with more than costume pieces, however. It also contains ninja-theme costume change animations and a ninja running power. There's also two new emotes for roleplayers, who tend to be the biggest emote fans. This makes the fourth booster pack since the original (or microtransaction bundle, if you like) for City of Heroes and you can bet there will be plenty more as long as these continue to sell. Our guess for the next addition? Mutants would be a safe bet; mutants or zombies.
How much is riding on City of Heroes: Going Rogue?
At the six-year mark, City of Heroes is still moving forward, with City of Heroes: Going Rogue targeted for release in the second quarter of 2010. It's certainly not the oldest game to receive an expansion, but Vicarious Existence has an interesting point to be made: exactly how much is riding on the success of this expansion? In true heroic sense, it may well be the fate of NCsoft West and of NCsoft's entire western presence in the market. It's no secret that NCsoft West has had a difficult time in the market, with the first rumbles having been made clear with the sad tale of Auto Assault. And it's hardly necessary to dredge up painful memories about the games that have also gone the way of the dodo. But as the post points out, there's not nearly as much revenue coming in from the western branch of the company as they'd like, even with the success Aion has been having in the marketplace. (If that sounds cynical or as if it's expecting too much money, Adam Martin has an excellent explanation of why NCsoft could and would be so draconic about profits.) To be fair, the post is a bit alarmist, but it does posit that there could be a great deal of trouble on the horizon for City of Heroes -- and perhaps the whole studio -- based on the performance of the expansion. And even if the idle speculation is wrong, it certainly does put you in the right mood for the expansion, doesn't it?
Massively interviews City of Heroes' newest architect
Sean "Dr. Aeon" McCann is the newest member of the City of Heroes team, having wowed Paragon with his recent outstanding work on Mission Architect. We got a chance to congratulate Dr. Aeon directly, and took the opportunity to talk with him about his new position. He gives us a look at how he made the leap from player to team member, how he's settling in to his new role, and all about the fun of working on Mission Architect. Follow along after the jump for a look into the "greatest mind the world has ever known."
City of Heroes: Going Rogue information revealed at Hero-Con
City of Heroes teased fans for most of October, promising big information on Going Rogue for those attending HeroCon, and they didn't disappoint. The welcome address last Saturday lived up to expectations in a big way. The community relations team presented nearly an hour of information, screenshots, and video covering the high points of Going Rogue. They began with the all-important process of transforming your hero to a villain, or vice versa. Rather than pushing a button or purchasing the transformation from the store, players will be able to stay in character and experience the fall from grace or redemption of their character as they work through a series of moral missions. New powersets (Demon Summoning and Dual Pistols), signature characters and enemy groups were introduced to the crowd, as well as some cool new costume pieces. An extensive look at Praetoria came in the form of a first look at the eye-popping graphics upgrade as well. All of the exciting new information begs the big question: When? Going Rogue is aiming for a release in Q2 2010, with beta coming in five waves in early 2010. After seeing the information from Hero-Con, we're as excited as you are for this expansion and will be letting you know as soon as more specific information is available. For the time being, check out the City of Heroes forums for an extensive (and impressive) rundown of all the current Going Rogue information.
Hero-Con full schedule announced
Hero-Con begins in just a few days, and it's time to start planning what you're going to do while you're there. The full event schedule, as well as a list of panels and workshops was released on the official site yesterday. Fans can kick off the event Friday with Board Games and Bevs With the Devs, then enjoy the rest of the weekend as well: participate in the live mission event as well as the costume and trivia contests, get a sneak peek at Going Rogue, and do some shopping. The panel and workshop schedule is guaranteed to force some tough choices. Everything is covered, from breaking into the industry to art design to game mechanics. On the lighter side, there are panels on player-run activities, a look at some Going Rogue characters, and several more that promise fun. Whatever your interest, Hero-Con seems to offer a panel for it. If you've not purchased tickets yet, they are still available -- check the official site for more details.
Hero-Con contests revealed
With Hero-Con less than a week away, Paragon Studios and NCSoft look to be living up to their promise of a bigger and better Hero-Con this year. They've promised closed beta keys for the upcoming City of Heroes expansion Going Rogue to all attendees, and even created a mission arc in-game that ties into the convention. They've also been hinting at some great activities at the convention, and yesterday they gave us all the information we've been waiting for.It's a fan convention near Halloween, so nobody should be surprised to hear there's a costume contest Saturday night after the banquet dinner. Five winners will be chosen, and they just ask that you leave any realistic (i.e. dangerous) weapons at home, and skip the costumes that are trademarked outside the CoH universe. There will also be trivia challenges running throughout the day on Saturday -- 30-minute qualifiers leading up to an on stage trivia competition between the six highest scoring qualifiers. The big fun, however, looks to be the live mission. Teams of eight will compete in a series of missions to be the first to find the 10 keys of the M.A.G.I. vault. You and your team (make your own PUG joke here) can sign up at the registration area on Friday.Good luck, have fun!
Guest author missions launch in City of Heroes
Today's October 13, and that means it's time for a mission full of awesome! Do you have what it takes to aid the great Captain Dynamic? Can you handle working along side the LOLBAT, the superhero with the power of internet memes? Or, would you prefer working to help a civilian find some super powers?It's your choice as of today, when three guest author missions are unleashed into the Architect Entertainment systems. Stories by Rooster Teeth Productions (continuing their Captain Dynamic character), Scott Kurtz from the webcomic PvP (the writer behind LOLBAT), and Bill Willingham (the writer behind Irena Faust and her quest for magic) are all available for your consideration and play time.If you spend some time in Architect Entertainment today, be sure to drop your opinions on the three new missions down below in our comment box. Inquiring minds want to know how the missions are!
Who wins in the fight between these two superheroes?
No, not those two, we're not touching that question. We're talking about the two Superhero MMOs: old favorite City of Heroes and newcomer Champions Online. Are you wondering how the two compare and which one comes out ahead overall? Big Download wanted to know too, and did us the favor of lining these two up side-by-side to find out.Since character customization is a huge feature in both games, Big Download started there. CO's character creator has the advantage here, in that it's built on the model that CoH used, and can be seen as a new and improved version. Big Download named it the winner here for its superior, more flexible editor.
Save the convention, save the world
Ok, so perhaps our title isn't as catchy as Heroes season one, but beyond that, there's still a convention (and a time stream) that needs your help!City of Heroes has put up their Hero-Con mission arc, "How To Save A Convention," and they need well armed heroes to go and put a stop to a villain that threatens time itself! While this mission line will probably be a lot of fun for all City of Heroes players, it will have a particularly strong meaning for anyone attending Hero-Con this year. The mission line supposedly ties into the live mission that will be going on at the convention (and it also hints at a big announcement being made at Hero-Con this year), so pay close attention to all of the details presented!If you're looking for the mission, you can find it stored with the many other missions at Architect Entertainment.
CoH: Going Rogue beta keys offered at HeroCon
Back in August, Paragon Studios and NCSoft revealed that they were expanding HeroCon into a two day event, and offering plenty of physical and virtual gifts to attendees.Now, Paragon Studios has sweetened the deal even more by announcing that attendance at HeroCon will guarantee access to the closed beta of Going Rogue, the upcoming alternate universe expansion for City of Heroes. Registered participants of HeroCon just need to be at the Doubletree Hotel during event registration to fill out a Going Rogue Non-Disclosure Agreement. (Of course, the usual rules apply: you need to have an active CoH game account, be a US resident, over 18, and must not work for a competitor or any of its affiliates.)Tickets for HeroCon can be purchased at Brown Paper Tickets, and a full list of events (which includes a first look at exclusive content from Going Rogue) can be found at the official site for City of Heroes.
Double experience and account reactivation weekend coming to City of Heroes
It's a whole new spectrum of experience, like a rainbow! Sorry, we felt the need to say that somewhere in this short article. But to celebrate the release of Issue 16: Power Spectrum to City of Heroes, all accounts are being reactivated and all heroes and villains will be netting themselves double experience this weekend. Plus, if you were a little short on spending money, influence/infamy is doubled this weekend as well.So, if you were a City of Heroes/Villains subscriber in the past, this weekend is your chance to re-download the game and check out the cool new additions like Architect and Power Spectrum. Customizable power colors! Finally!The "weekend" begins next Thursday (October 8th) at 12 PM ET (9 AM PT) and will continue until 3 AM ET on Monday (Midnight on Sunday, if you're of the Pacific Time persuasion.)
