My earlier post on "Champions Online vs. City of Heroes" was a little too...disjointed and unfocused, so I'd like to do something more positive and make a "wish list" of things I'd like to see when the Champions MMO comes out.
1) Just A Single Costume Option - Being that I am an old-school "plumber" player type who comes up with one really good character concept and spends years plumbing that character to its depths through multiple incarnations in games and game systems of all kinds, I just have one request for Cryptic in regards to the costume for the CO version of "The Halloween Knight": I'd like there to be an option for a "pumpkin" or "jack-o-lantern" helmet. A helmet, not a mask. The head needs to be bulbous. Its just a generic thing that no one would have to worry about as far as copyrights are concerned. I hope. The City of Heroes version of HK uses the "chitin helmet", which is OK...but its more "orange Guyver" than pumpkin.
2) No Archetypes - Even though the 5th Ed. Champions book describes some archetypes (bricks, blasters, martial artists, etc.) and City of Heroes uses them already (Tankers, Blasters, Scrappers, etc.), having archetypes (or ATs) in CO would just be silly, redundant and needlessly limiting. You don't box-in and limit things that should be open-ended unless it is absolutely necessary to preserve game balance. I may want my "blaster" to have good defenses and resistances to attacks. I may want my "brick" to have a ranged attack or two. I just want it to remain my choice and not get limited by the character's AT. Even in the Champions sourcebook, ATs were just a guideline...not an actual rule. It should stay that way no matter how far out the window they're throwing the HERO System for CO.
3) Classic Characters "Updated", Not Reworked Entirely To The Point Where They're Unrecognizable - Do I need to explain why? Granted, I'm prepared to accept modernization and "updating" to classic published characters like Armadillo, Ogre, Pulsar, Mechannon and Grond. I accepted it willingly when I thought the FUZION version of Champions was the "new" version. I looked at that artwork and said "Wow, these guys look better than ever now." Woops! FUZION got flushed. OK, so, now there's the 5th Ed. versions from "Conquerors, Killers and Crooks". I looked at that artwork and said "Ah, they look so modernized now." Faithful to their original concepts in books I've had for 20 years or so. And why not, since the same guys from 20 years ago were still doing it! There's accepting "modernization and updating" then there's "who the hell are these characters supposed to be?" and Cryptic's "concept art" for Defender, Ironclad, Menton and Dr. Destroyer is falling more and more into that latter category. I've read what people are saying on these boards, and the majority do not seem pleased with how Cryptic is drawing-up visions of these "classic old standby" characters. Defender and Ironclad with swords? Menton as a scrawny ghetto kid with an enlarged cranium? I'm not complaining about "change". I'm not opposed to "modernization and updating". I'm prepared to accept both, and I have in the past. But when you look at the "new version" of something and your reaction is "WTF?"...something is definitely wrong there. If this signifies Cryptic's collective middle-finger-salute to us "fanboys" of Champions 5th Ed. along with an unspoken vow that "Champions is ours now and we'll do what we please with it to make a buck"...well, they can have it. But I won't be buying it.
4) Just A Few Game Mechanics From The HERO System - OK, so, Cryptic is pitching the rules system that Champions is based on - the HERO System itself - out the window. My question is: How far out the window? Is anything of the HERO System going to be seen in Champions Online? I'd like to see Power Frameworks make it. Elemental Controls and Multipowers seem reasonable, and if Variable Power Pools don't show up I won't cry. I'd like to see Advantages and Limitations on powers in Champions Online. I'd like to see the "classic" HERO System stats like STR, DEX, CON, etc...but I don't know how well some things would translate into an MMO as opposed to others.
Further opinions and/or comments are welcome.
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