City of... Developer Digest Post Tracker

Castle: Re: Open Beta Change Notes - May 9th

Castle@coh.com — Fri, 09 May 2008 09:39:00 EDT

Quote:
Quote:
Stalkers
Super Reflexes/Evasion: Added radius to Evasion allowing its taunt effect to draw the attention of nearby foes.

Huh? I'm not sure stalkers (SR in particular) need a taunt aura.

Um...that should be Brutes!

Twenty-twenty-twenty four hours to go I wanna be sedated
Nothin' to do and no where to go-o-oh I wanna be sedated
Just get me to the airport put me on a plane
Hurry hurry hurry before I go insane
I can't control my fingers I can't control my brain
Oh no no no no no

pohsyb: Re: The QoL Thread

pohsyb@coh.com — Fri, 09 May 2008 08:16:00 EDT

Quote:
Create a global channel and invite someone to it using the /chan_invite command. We've found the command returns different text if a person doesn't exist, is offline, or is on hide mode.

I just tested this and there is a different message if they are hidding from global channels, but the message is the same whether they are offline or online:

Offline, Not Hidden: Channel Invite Sent!
Online, Not Hidden: Channel Invite Sent!
Online, Hidden: Unable to invite player, they are currently hidden.
Offline, Hidden: Unable to invite player, they are currently hidden.

I think this still falls with in the goal of preventing people from figuring out if you are offline/online if you don't expose yourself.

However, if anyone does find a way to trick the system unto telling you someone's offline/online status while they are hidden I would love to know! ^_^)b

"We all lose in the end, that is the intention" --Emanuel Lasker

Edited by pohsyb (05/09/08 08:17 PM)

BackAlleyBrawler: Re: Cimerora, worst zone added to date

BackAlleyBrawler@coh.com — Fri, 09 May 2008 08:13:00 EDT

Quote:
I think you (and many others) are approaching Cimerora (and the Midnighters' Club) with the wrong expectations. From what I've been able to tell, Cimerora was designed for one purpose: the TF. Consider this: You're being sent back in time to undo the interference of another group. Anything you do beyond that runs the risk of contaminating the time stream. The TF is the means to accomplish your goals. The missions from Marcus allow you to harass the enemy and set right things they have done. Everything contributes to the single goal of undoing the damage others have done. Cimerora could more accurately be considered a "pocket" zone; it shouldn't be compared to other zones since it has its own distinct purpose.

Likewise, the Midnighters' Club is a gateway zone. Currently it only goes to Cimerora, but I would be astonished (and not a little disappointed) if that was all it ever led to. I can easily see a large number of pocket zones similar to Cimerora being introduced, all accessed through either the Midnighters' Club or Ouroboros. These zones would allow you to travel to different times (not just the past, but the future as well) in an effort to stave off the "Coming Storm." Think of the Midnighters' Club as a parallel of Pocket D. It's a gateway to other places (heroes at least can use it as a shortcut between universities). Pocket D has no other purpose except during certain events. The Midnighters' Club has no other purpose except to get you to certain pocket zones. Expecting more from it is a mistake.

I12 is just setting the stage for a great deal of future possibilities. Cimerora is just a taste of things to come (and I know that some people will hate that fact). I believe that the Devs will continue to work on introducing or revamping larger zones, but having a number of these cooperative pocket zones gives everybody more flexibility and options. The Coming Storm is undoubtedly meant to be an awesome and overarching storyline that will take several issues to fully reveal. Be patient. Give it time (if you'll pardon the pun). Wait to see just what the Devs have in store for the future.

I believe Hero 1 will address this further in an upcoming Dev Diary, but this is a pretty good explanation of what the design goal behind Cimerora was.

Senior Animator/Visual Effects Artist
*All posts unrelated to animation or visual effects represent my personal opinion and are presented in an informal style intended to inform and entertain.*

pohsyb: Re: Real numbers and Taunt

pohsyb@coh.com — Fri, 09 May 2008 03:25:00 EDT

Taunt enhancements should show it buffing duration, not magnitude.

Its just another bug with the power nubmers. (^_^)b

"We all lose in the end, that is the intention" --Emanuel Lasker

BackAlleyBrawler: Re: Weapons

BackAlleyBrawler@coh.com — Thu, 08 May 2008 09:50:00 EDT

Quote:
Quote:
As for allowing Dual Blades access to the Talsorian Katana or Talsorian Broadsword, I'm really hesitant to do so. They have a unique weapon for themselves, and giving them their own unique weapon and the unique weapons for Broadsword and Katana...I worry that might irritate Broadsword or Katana players.

Not to step out of line, but is there really a "need" for any set to have a unique model? I mean, especially considering the numerous power sets that don't have a weapon, and thus cannot be customized, is it really a big deal if bs/katana/db can use the same weapon models? In a comic bow world, it's no so outrageous to dual-wield katanas or broadswords...

For normal weapons, no...but because these are unlockable I feel it puts them into more of a prestige item. I may change my mind about that later, or Positron may demand that it happens, but for right now that's the position I'm taking.

Senior Animator/Visual Effects Artist
*All posts unrelated to animation or visual effects represent my personal opinion and are presented in an informal style intended to inform and entertain.*

BackAlleyBrawler: Re: Weapons

BackAlleyBrawler@coh.com — Thu, 08 May 2008 09:30:00 EDT

Quote:
No, you just came off as expecting everybody to be grateful about things they don't have any use of, and not being bummed or not complaining about their own things being pushed back.

So what if Dual Blades, Broadsword, and Assault Rifle get new models? Sure, I like them and I appreciate that they were made, but I don't play them, I play Claws, and Claws was pushed back.

Sorry about that, it's just the way things worked out. I started with the Broadsword and that immediately lead me to the Battleaxe and Hammer. Katana, Dual Blades, and the Bow are really just variations on the theme. But for Claws I really had a hard time coming up with a solid concept. I had a vague idea what I wanted to do, but couldn't get it to work out. By the time I did get it figured it out, the window had closed for getting them into Issue 12 in time for live.

As for allowing Dual Blades access to the Talsorian Katana or Talsorian Broadsword, I'm really hesitant to do so. They have a unique weapon for themselves, and giving them their own unique weapon and the unique weapons for Broadsword and Katana...I worry that might irritate Broadsword or Katana players.

Senior Animator/Visual Effects Artist
*All posts unrelated to animation or visual effects represent my personal opinion and are presented in an informal style intended to inform and entertain.*

The Dark Watcher: Re: Extra costume slots

The Dark Watcher@coh.com — Thu, 08 May 2008 08:41:00 EDT

They are extra character slots, not extra costume slots.

And yes, there is a known bug that will prevent you from redeeming extra slots if you have all your current character slots full. This will be fixed in the next build.

BackAlleyBrawler: Re: Weapons

BackAlleyBrawler@coh.com — Thu, 08 May 2008 08:34:00 EDT

Quote:
Quote:
cool pics all around!
but does anyone know how to unlock all of this?
i.e. what badge? or how many vanguard merits?

Ruluru weapons are unlocked hero side by doing and shadow shard TF. BaB said he made ruluru claws but for some reason they didn't get in. They are checking on it.

The talsorian weapons usually run 100 vanguard merits.

They didn't get in because there were finished after the pencils down date. They have a pretty decent chance of making it into a post-live build, or Issue 13 at the latest.

Senior Animator/Visual Effects Artist
*All posts unrelated to animation or visual effects represent my personal opinion and are presented in an informal style intended to inform and entertain.*

Castle: Re: PvP Changes Feedback

Castle@coh.com — Thu, 08 May 2008 08:28:00 EDT

Quote:
I seriously don't understand why they won't look at the KB powers mags and do some adjusting...

I'm glad you admit you do not understand. It makes it easier.

Quote:
Just can't stand this much incompetence.

If you don't understand, how can you possibly judge competence?

Look, I have *faith* in the PVP community. I believe that you guys will find effective counters. *If* you do not, I can make further adjustments. We've been accused of going overboard on changes in the past; you may even think this particular set of changes falls into that category. I am attempting to deal with these things in the best manner possible, not toss quick band aids on things. In this case, that means giving you guys time to prove that my faith is misplaced.

Twenty-twenty-twenty four hours to go I wanna be sedated
Nothin' to do and no where to go-o-oh I wanna be sedated
Just get me to the airport put me on a plane
Hurry hurry hurry before I go insane
I can't control my fingers I can't control my brain
Oh no no no no no

Castle: Re: Lol Family.

Castle@coh.com — Thu, 08 May 2008 08:05:00 EDT

Quote:
Awesome.

If you don't mind my asking, though, what time during beta did that change make it in (early closed beta, middle of beta, open, whenever?)?

March 17

Twenty-twenty-twenty four hours to go I wanna be sedated
Nothin' to do and no where to go-o-oh I wanna be sedated
Just get me to the airport put me on a plane
Hurry hurry hurry before I go insane
I can't control my fingers I can't control my brain
Oh no no no no no

Castle: Re: Lol Family.

Castle@coh.com — Thu, 08 May 2008 07:42:00 EDT

Quote:
It appears the exp for defeating them at level 50 has been reduced to bring the reward in line with the risk for defeating them .

Correct.

Twenty-twenty-twenty four hours to go I wanna be sedated
Nothin' to do and no where to go-o-oh I wanna be sedated
Just get me to the airport put me on a plane
Hurry hurry hurry before I go insane
I can't control my fingers I can't control my brain
Oh no no no no no

Castle: Re: Suicidal Veteran Pets (48 month reward)

Castle@coh.com — Thu, 08 May 2008 07:16:00 EDT

Quote:
Has anybody else noted that the new "Buff Pet" has a death wish?

I can understand that it can be targeted.
I agree with the low Health.

Currently, however, the little git charges into combat like a blaster that just got Fire Sword (with similar results). This means that the defensive pet is the only worthwhile one, useful only after a combat for quick End recovery without using Rest.

Is this working as designed? If so, were the designers drinking at the time?

It's definitely not Working as Designed. Of course, as designed, they had a little attack they could toss (like 1/4 Brawl damage) so they tended to stand in one spot and blast away endlessly. Since I had to remove their attack, they don't know what to do, so their AI goes a bit wonky. I'll get it fixed soonish.

Twenty-twenty-twenty four hours to go I wanna be sedated
Nothin' to do and no where to go-o-oh I wanna be sedated
Just get me to the airport put me on a plane
Hurry hurry hurry before I go insane
I can't control my fingers I can't control my brain
Oh no no no no no

Castle: Re: Tanker Feedback

Castle@coh.com — Thu, 08 May 2008 07:09:00 EDT

Quote:
Does anyone know if they fixed the bug with WP's aggro aura where it doesnt taunt foes worth a crap? I hope this gets fixed because it makes tanking way too hard at times.

Not a bug. Works as designed. Willpower has many strengths. It has a Taunt Aura, it simply is not as strong as other tank sets auras.

Twenty-twenty-twenty four hours to go I wanna be sedated
Nothin' to do and no where to go-o-oh I wanna be sedated
Just get me to the airport put me on a plane
Hurry hurry hurry before I go insane
I can't control my fingers I can't control my brain
Oh no no no no no

Castle: Re: PvP Changes Feedback

Castle@coh.com — Thu, 08 May 2008 06:57:00 EDT

(QR)
Telling people that "if you aren't _____ stop posting" isn't reasonable. Their opinions are valid, even if you believe them to be misinformed. Be polite, laugh if you must, but do not tell others they have no right to post.

Edit: Improved grammar

Twenty-twenty-twenty four hours to go I wanna be sedated
Nothin' to do and no where to go-o-oh I wanna be sedated
Just get me to the airport put me on a plane
Hurry hurry hurry before I go insane
I can't control my fingers I can't control my brain
Oh no no no no no

Edited by Castle (05/08/08 06:58 PM)

Castle: Re: World of Confusion Endurance Cost

Castle@coh.com — Thu, 08 May 2008 06:31:00 EDT

(qr)
WoC is half the endurance it should be. It'll be fixed in an upcoming patch.

Twenty-twenty-twenty four hours to go I wanna be sedated
Nothin' to do and no where to go-o-oh I wanna be sedated
Just get me to the airport put me on a plane
Hurry hurry hurry before I go insane
I can't control my fingers I can't control my brain
Oh no no no no no