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SDCC 09: City of Heroes devs on the future of player-created content
This week marked the annual pilgrimage to Comic-Con International in San Diego for the comics and gaming faithful, and a number of superhero MMO developers were there as well to whip the fanboys (and girls) into a frenzy. When you think about it, comic conventions are as big for superhero games as other events like E3 and PAX. Massively was on the ground at SDCC this year and among the games we took a look at was, not surprisingly, City of Heroes. We caught up with City of Heroes game designers Joe Morrissey and Matt "Positron" Miller who shared with us a bit about how things have changed in the game in recent months, and gave us some info about the content and features on the way in Issue 16: Power Spectrum.%Gallery-68649%
Power customization teased at for City of Heroes
We've always operated under the assumption that City of Heroes was designed in such a way that power customization would be very difficult. So a recent forum post hinting by lead designer Matt "Positron" Miller showing that it's apparently happening makes this news all the more interesting.Of course, all we get are a couple screenshots of purple and blue imps to tease us, but then again what else do you really need to know right now? Well okay, we suppose you could know how colorization works and if it's something that's done only during character creation or at any time while playing. It would also be nice to know the extent that powers could be customized, too.We'll just have to wait until July to hear more about Issue 16. So until then, dream about City of Heroes in whatever color you like -- even made up ones!
New details on custom powers and more for Champions Online
It seems like Champions Online is starting to exist in that development space where there's quite a bit of solid, factual information ready to be divulged. How do we know? Easy, the latest Ask Cryptic -- traditionally at least semi-informative, if not pretty entertaining -- gets quite detailed on the subjects of power customization, grinding, character creation and non-combative roles such as healers and buffers.Our seasoned MMO geek "detectotrons" are telling us that a tidal wave of new information is possibly just around the corner, but even so, this newest volley of answers is surprisingly satisfying. That being said, we'd love to hear more about the quest, crafting and PvP systems designed into Champions Online. If only because after creating your superhero, his nemesis (and lackeys) and doing the tutorial, those are the meat and bones of any MMORPG.
Ask Cryptic touches on player-created content
Every time Cryptic puts up a brand new Ask Cryptic article we have a tough time picking only one or two answers to talk about. However, this week was pretty easy. The very first question presented asks about how deep Champions Online will delve into the concept of player-created content, whether it be mods or actual in-game content. Jack Emmert responded reasonably by mentioning that the Nemesis system, costume creation, power selection and power customization features are merely the beginning. Apparently we that we can, "look to see [Cryptic] continue to open the door for more player-generated material." Which really makes us wonder what that means for Star Trek Online.We must admit to this being an exciting proposition. It's our hope as comic book and MMO nerds that there's a future where we can submit completely unique costumes to go through moderated approval for each of our crazy characters in Champions Online. Or even custom animations! That would be unequivocally and unabashedly awesome. Don't disappoint us now, Cryptic.
