Champions Online...

The NDA is causing me to filter things out, but let's just say my apathy for the game has skyrocketed again. I honestly don't think this is the game for me individually. I'll most likely pick it up when it's released until DCUO Alpha/Beta comes along, but after that, I most likely won't touch it until their first major update rolls out. It still has a few months until release, but I'm not seeing too many big changes coming to it to keep me around.

All of those not in Beta don't take this as a, "DOOOOOOOOOOOM" or "The game sucks" message. Champions is a decent game meant for a certain type of people. I don't fit in that category unfortunately. So we'll see how it continues to develop over the next couple months. I'm letting you all know this because I've been quiet as of late and this is mainly the reason for it.

i hear ya, i am too looking for a certain ummph!!! well yeah im sure all the things i miss or are hoping for will be addressed in an update. Im currently trying to get into beta for a game called Aion...its in beta in Asia right now....

I love the integrated PvP, check it out.

It depends for me how the Nemesis system and end-game work out.

But anyone who sees how much time I put into my villains coulda probably figured that out. :p

yea i noticed, i remember when ..correct me if im wrong but you made Dark Shroud in City of Heroes...to masquerade as heroes (until the city of villains release)... hey maybe Marvel will allow you to take over the world and all that jazz. I know DCU has villain faction...heck even city of x has a rogue faction that walks the line....DC and Marvel need to get on that.

I've slowly been getting into DCUO a lot more. I'm trying to get on the Alpha/Beta train as early as possible. I've heard the demo at E3 was more polished than CO is at the moment and DCUO is still pre-Alpha. I'll have to check it out for myself, but the videos they've shown already look more solid and dynamic than CO. Combat appears to be slower, but I can deal with that if we're given good gameplay. Plus, you can play as either hero or villain in DCUO. So we can have constant RP between the CotE and Dark Shroud and our other villain groups when it launches. Champions has the Nemesis System, but they aren't player controlled. It's all AI. It just depends on how things are implemented and how creative Cryptic gets with the system.

Other then that, I'm getting ready to jump on the DCUO train as well as the Star Wars train. We will definitely be opening a chapter in the new Star Wars MMO if anyone else is interested.

I created an earth elemental called Tremor for DCUO. If they so happen to have Wind control, Yin might be in the game, but I'm not sure about being leader. Right now I know I don't have the time to manage all three games as leader. It's entirely too much.

The only problem I have with DCUO is SOE's attempt at SWG.

It was a horrible example at making an MMO. One of the worse experiences I've had gaming.

I'm stil holding out for a beta invite to pass my judgement on CO. From what I have heard...it's getting more polish but whether it's enough remains to be seen.

My problem with DCUO is that I'm not a fan of the universe. I know it's a minor thing but it might effect my take on the game. That and what Morc said. SWG left a bad taste in my mouth for Sony games.

I did play in the weekend beta event for Aion...I like it so far. a very polished game with great visuals.

Quote :

I created an earth elemental called Tremor for DCUO. If they so happen to have Wind control, Yin might be in the game, but I'm not sure about being leader. Right now I know I don't have the time to manage all three games as leader. It's entirely too much.

i've seen a video where a guy makes a tornado from his hands in a mr miyagi wax on wax off style, it was super cool!!!


I cant find the video again but here is a blurb

Quote :

For a couple examples, we went through what it would take to create a Flash or Hawkman style character. For Flash, you might choose wind as ability, as he can generate twisters with rapid movement, and as such, power source would be hands. Movement would be super speed (of course), and abilities might include increased stamina and increased metabolism. For Hawkman, you’d be looking at Flight, Lightning, Power Source being one-handed weapon (and choose a Mace), with strength and durability as abilities. This makes it apparent that while you won’t be playing as the actual established heroes (after all, who wants 10,000 Batmans running around), you can approximate them very well, event.

My biggest concern however will be can i chose hard light and wind powers and mix and match like Champions????

Some of my concerns are laid to rest because for instance, you dont pick might i guess you can alter your stats by giving your self alot of strength.

I like the environment in this game more, like you can knock ppl into blocks and they move appropriately and you actually can tell which things you can pick up...

I went to Marvels MMO creators site http://www.gazillion.com/
then i read the info on that game and it says you can BE one of the heroes and master THEIR powers...which leads me to believe that you wont be creating a player instead maybe assuming a role or character...i hope that is not the case and the person who wrote that didnt know what they are talking about.

as for Aion my friend was in beta on a korean version and it was awesome...going into the abyss and kicking some Angel ass (yeah i sided with the demons...they had it bad)

Marvel is making two MMOs about itself. So what you read could be about the child version.

nope i saw that one too its called super hero squad, the one i read was called Marvel Universe...well its early i assume it was a mistake on the writer

That may not be a bad thing. If we can play as both Marvel characters and our own I think they will be the next WoW. Marvel always has to do it big, and will do everything and anything to take their products to the top. I would love to be able to play as Beast with other players as the X-men and tackle the Brotherhood in the middle of a street in New York. How awesome would that experience be?

I can get into that real quick.

For me, CO is slowly fading out. I really like the graphics and even some of the animations. But lately, I haven't seen enough change or polish to really sell me on it at release time. I am really starting to like what I'm reading and seeing about DCUO and the new Star Wars MMO. Like most of you, my only real concern with DCUO is SOE... but considering DC Comics has a huge stake in this, the game might not turn out too bad. I have always enjoyed a good DC comic, and would really hate to see this fall flat on its face.

Aion looks really interesting. The screenshots are fantastic and I like the simplistic use of classes with the complex use of 3D combat.

*ahem* If you guys don't want your Beta Key's can I have it? XD

Black-Ice wrote:

*ahem* If you guys don't want your Beta Key's can I have it? XD

I was thinking the same thing

I said it was "slowly fading out"... not completely dead.

That's good enough for me. o.o *snatches key*

I think that's the reason why some members haven't came back over from our old forums. They were in Beta, and as soon as they got in, they started drifting off. CO seems to be having the same affect on some other supergroups and their leaders as well. It just isn't holding any water at this time.

When you guys do get into Beta you'll see what we're talking about. Hopefully some of you do like it, but as I'm finding out that isn't so much the case after you've played it once or twice.

Well I'm still holding out hope for enough "fixes" or tweaks to the game before release to make it worthwhile for people to play. There's a ton of competition this fall and it would be bad for them to release an unfinished game. Luckily I don't have much time for gaming so maybe I'll burnout slower

Yin wrote:

I think that's the reason why some members haven't came back over from our old forums. They were in Beta, and as soon as they got in, they started drifting off. CO seems to be having the same affect on some other supergroups and their leaders as well. It just isn't holding any water at this time.

When you guys do get into Beta you'll see what we're talking about. Hopefully some of you do like it, but as I'm finding out that isn't so much the case after you've played it once or twice.

Well how long were you in Beta? I mean, CoH popped out something new every few months or so, which made it slightly less dull (granted I quit at level 30 when I realized I was doing the same exact missions over and over, but, whatever. XD) if you were in beta since the delay then I can see why you've lost interest. o.o The thing I can say is "It's the beta"....

But yeah, my question still stands. o.o

that's one reason that I'm glad I don't get in early betas

Black-Ice wrote:

Yin wrote:

I think that's the reason why some members haven't came back over from our old forums. They were in Beta, and as soon as they got in, they started drifting off. CO seems to be having the same affect on some other supergroups and their leaders as well. It just isn't holding any water at this time.

When you guys do get into Beta you'll see what we're talking about. Hopefully some of you do like it, but as I'm finding out that isn't so much the case after you've played it once or twice.

Well how long were you in Beta? I mean, CoH popped out something new every few months or so, which made it slightly less dull (granted I quit at level 30 when I realized I was doing the same exact missions over and over, but, whatever. XD) if you were in beta since the delay then I can see why you've lost interest. o.o The thing I can say is "It's the beta"....

But yeah, my question still stands. o.o

I've been in since 2nd wave Alpha. Still no juice for me. lol

I got into the beta event of Aion this weekend. All I have to say is... this is fantastic. Also, every spell, ranged attack, or melee attack is tied to some element. Everything is extremely fluid and the landscaping is very well thought out and breathtaking. Of course, character customization is nothing to sniff out either.

Tectonic Shift wrote:

I got into the beta event of Aion this weekend. All I have to say is... this is fantastic. Also, every spell, ranged attack, or melee attack is tied to some element. Everything is extremely fluid and the landscaping is very well thought out and breathtaking. Of course, character customization is nothing to sniff out either.

I keep hearing this. The customization is what I wouldnt be able to get pass but I may be able to if the gameplay is as good as I'm hearing.

Actually, I take that back, the customization is very good. I haven't seen one person who looks like any of my toons.

Here's a few updates I've sent to a few friends who I'm attempting to interest in the game as well:

• It's beautifully done. The environments are gorgeous and very active. The story line is really good so far.
  
• This game is based around a PvPvE element. The end game of this is much like DAoC or Warhammer in that there is an opposing faction and you can and will end up fighting each other at some point. There is however a third faction that acts sort of as the "balancing" equation in PvP. They will actually come to fight based upon several variables that are part of the RvR experience. And by RvR, I mean castle/fortress sieges and artifact capturing (not like capture the flag, but more like DAoC).
  
• Animations are extremely fluid, even in combat. Watching my Chanter fight at level 10 is like watching a shaolin monk with a staff.
  
• Emotes are really well done. You will even emote stuff if you stand still long enough, and the emote changes based upon weather conditions and the environment you are in. I've seen my character hold a large leaf over his head when its raining, and when standing in a body of water, he attempts to catch fish with his hands.
  
• Moving in combat has effects on you. Moving forwards adds to your attack, moving backwards adds to your defense, and side stepping adds to your dodge.
  
• Combat is fast fun and complex. It's very refreshing.
  
• There are combat skill chains. Every class has them. But you don't have to hotkey every key in the skill chain attack cycle. You can either click the button on the screen, or hotkey the next skill chain, or just press the starter skill again and it will automatically execute the next chain. Some attacks have multiple chains.
  
• Aerial combat is part of the game, not just travel. You can even use it in areas that flying is restricted by "gliding" off of hills and cliffs. But there is a flight timer so you have to pay attention to that. In the RvR zone, I hear the timer is removed and you can fly infinitely. There are some skills that can only be used while in flight.
  
• There are a lot more. This is a game that has to be experienced. Believe it or not, it doesn't have the "grind" associated with most Asian based MMOs. There is always some grind, but this is one of the first MMOs where I read every word of every quest I went on. The quests pulled me into them and they don't entirely lead you around by the nose like some games do. Although quest givers are clearly marked, but that just saves me some time on finding them.
  
• Quests are broken down into three categories. Campaign, Quest, and Work Order. Campaign quests are what you will do to make your way through the story of Aion (and straight into RvR). They have purpose. The other quests are more like "side quests" in that they sort of are filler, but they have their own stories aside from the Campaign. Work Orders are exactly what you think they are. Quests associated with your non-combat profession.
  Professions. There are two gathering professions (both of which you can do automatically). Collecting and Aether collecting (at level 10). Mining, herb gathering, etc all are part of collecting profession. Gathering Aether is a totally different skill and requires you to be able to fly. One character can learn all the other professions as well. So no need of having a separate character for armorsmithing or weaponsmithing or alchemy. All it takes is time and money. Speaking of the other professions, I don't remember all of them, but there is sewing, weaponsmithing, armorsmithing, alchemy, cooking, and handiwork.
  
• Armor and weapons are sort of in a tiered system (white, green, yellow, blue, orange). White is common, while orange is legendary. Legendary weapons and armor can be crafted, looted, given as quest rewards, or bought through points won in RvR.
  
• Customization does not end with your character. You can dye your armor, and I understand you can add customizations to it as well (after level 30). You can further customize your armor with manastones or godstones (less common than manastones). Manastones can increase HP, attack, parry, defense, shield block, etc. Godstones I haven't seen yet, but they must be more powerful.
  
• You can even customize your abilities by adding Stigma stones to your character (stigma act as skills and have cooldown periods), which means you can acquire stigma that lets you cast healing specific stigma abilities from other classes (or your own). Stigma stones can be traded out and are not destroyed when replaced. They act more like equipment. You can have a maximum of 5 stigma at level 50.
  
• The version I'm betatesting (v1.0) is the same one that was originally released in Asia. The version going to US production is version 1.5.
  
• There are some very interesting things coming in version 1.5 that are very exciting for the game and for the RvR element. They are implementing an arena where both the Elyos and Asmodae can enter and compete for objectives. You get "points" for participating in both the PvP and PvE aspects of the instance and for completing the objectives in the instance. Groups are required to register and the instance will not begin until there are enough registants on both sides. Gear does drop off boss mobs in this Arena.
  
• There are 5 fortresses in Upper Abyss and 3 fortresses in the Lower Abyss. The Abyss if you will remember is the RvR/PvPvE zone. In version 1.5, those fortresses are each getting their own dungeons that can be explored and each have their own unique "drops" for armor and weapons. There are quests associated with these dungeons. The big appeal of these dungeons are the Treasure Boxes. The main objective of these dungeons is to clear through it quickly and get as many Treasure Boxes as you can before a timer runs out. Once the timer runs out, the Treasure Boxes may start slowly disappearing one by one... or disappear all at once.
  
• The level of customization I've seen so far is being further increased in the production release. In the production release you'll be able to customize the eye color and various body proportions even more. More hair styles and faces as well (remember you can further alter your face through color, tattoos/scars, and "decoration" (which is makeup/facial hair) and facial sliders).
  
• The world I've been exploring is going to get a lot bigger as more land is added in versions 1.1, 1.2, and 1.5. Lots of instanced content is added as well.
  
• Titles that you earn also have stats and bonuses tied to them. So a title adds more than just a string of characters before your name (unlike WoW).
  
• Since Rifts can be opened up to the other players realms for "raiding" purposes, there is a system going into place to prevent griefing lower level players in that region. This system is not in effect in the Abyss. If you repeatedly kill lower level players in their own area, you will receive a Curse and a Judgement. Basically, you become unable to be rezzed or to use Rifts to get back home. Once there, you are stuck. The other side effect is that you become marked on everyone's local map. Even if you are stealthed, your name/title will be visible. The only way to lose the Curse or Judgement is to die, or cast your Return (to bind point) spell, and stay in your lands for a specified period of time (which may be quite lengthy). Also, anyone who kills you, up to 12 players surrounding your body at the time of your death get buffs.
  
• New Basic and Advance Stigmas. In version 1.5, you can have 5 Basic Stigma and 3 Advanced Stigma you can use to customize yourself with. Stigma are spells/abilities and can be used across "classes". The only requirement is to find one and equip it in town. The Advanced Stigma slots can be used for Basic Stigma though, so instead of 5 Basic and 3 Advance, you could have 8 Basic. Advanced Stigma slots have quests associated with getting them.
  

So, I'm definitely thinking about playing this game. I'm already leaning towards the Chanter class as I love to get in scrap it up, but also like providing buffs and heals in a supporting role.

i was sold before, i really enjoyed the few times i was able to use my friends beta time.