Champions Online

[Feops]

I've heard it summarized as City of Heroes v2.

Anyone tried the beta, playing in the pre-order weekend, or about to play once the retail version releases? Thoughts on it?

City of Heroes had a special place in my heart. It wasn't massive like WoW, but it was zippy and fast and fun.

 

[SolitaryPenguin]

I played the beta, and it seemed very similar to CoH to me, but a lot of die hard CoH fans seemed to notice quite a bit of differences.

The graphics were amazing, and the tutorial zone really gets you moving in the right direction. The nice thing I noticed about it in the 14 or so levels I played, is that you can mix and match power sets, so you could really fulfill any role in a group, rather than just being a tank or blaster or what have you.

I plan to come back to it later in the year, once the initial kinks are worked out of it. I think it definitely has potential.

 

[MFJAGgernaut-B]

I recently read it's basically a table-top RPG called "Champions" licensed to Cryptic, then redressed into a modified CoH.

 

[Totenkindly]

City of Heroes had a special place in my heart. It wasn't massive like WoW, but it was zippy and fast and fun.

CoH was the first MMO I played. I really liked it. Yes, some stuff got repetitive, but it was still very cool and where I first learned how to group effectively. I ended up switching to WoW a year later (that was where all my friends were) but i still do miss CoH sometimes. And honestly, there was NOTHING like travel powers -- superleap and superspeed, specifically. Wow.

I am not currently playing MMOs anymore but remember perking up when I saw that Champions was coming out... I had the old original boxed set back in the 80's. I probably still have it, stored in the basement somewhere.

 

[The_Liquid_Laser]

CoH was the first MMO I played.

Heh I think your first experience was pretty different than the MMO norm IMO. I found the gameplay to be more fun and original than just about every MMO out there. I probably would have played it more but I just didn't have time for an MMO when I actually gave it a serious try.

However several years before that I was accepted as a beta tester and found the game to be really good then too. I had actually followed the game really closely for about two years (i.e. I spent most of my time on their forum) and was accepted into an early beta run. However just before they started beta testing I got hooked on FFXI, so I never gave CoH much of a chance. I could tell early on CoH would be a really good game, but I just can't commit to two MMO's at once.

Anyway the devs at Cryptic really know what they're doing. I have no doubt that Champions Online will be a fun game. (Still don't really have time for an MMO though lol.)

 

[Totenkindly]

Anyway the devs at Cryptic really know what they're doing. I have no doubt that Champions Online will be a fun game. (Still don't really have time for an MMO though lol.)

Totally agree. I was really impressed with Cryptic. I dabbled in some other MMOs along with my time immersed in CoH and WoW (including EQII, Matrix Online, etc) and none on them were comparable. Matrix Online in particular sucked in terms of play interface; I hated it.

CoH was clean and intuitive.

 

[SolitaryPenguin]

Totally agree. I was really impressed with Cryptic. I dabbled in some other MMOs along with my time immersed in CoH and WoW (including EQII, Matrix Online, etc) and none on them were comparable. Matrix Online in particular sucked in terms of play interface; I hated it.

CoH was clean and intuitive.

See, MxO was what got me into MMO's in the first place. I loved that game (and the whole universe behind it) but the development of it went to shit. It actually had one of the best beta communities I had seen. It's interface was a bit unique in the MMO genre, but I hadn't played any others up until it, so I was none the wiser.

I played CoH for about 6 months at about the same time, and between its travel powers and MxO's hyper jumping, I was so spoiled by the time I played WoW and had to walk everywhere.

I almost quit WoW because of how long it took to walk anywhere, but then all of a sudden it was 4 years later and I am still playing.

 

[Feops]

So I picked up Champions just because I'm a sucker for the superhero genre.

First impressions - it is very much city of heroes 2. They recycled and improved a number of animations, though on the whole it is a massive graphical upgrade.

They built upon the character generation somewhat and there are so many more costume options now. There are a zillion different sliders for your body and face. The pre-defined body types seem to do well enough, though I did notice that starting a female hero automatically sets your breast size to "max", which is way out of proportion. Way to put out for your audience Cryptic. Also you can tweak your power colors some.

The interface has no surprises. There's gear, but it slots rather than equips, so it's kinda between WoW and CoH in how it works. Character progression is much less linear, so you can cherry pick powers from all over, though there is a convoluted system of tiers that restricts what you can pick at which levels. There are stats but their purpose is vague at times until you comb through the forums a little.

I haven't grouped yet so that will be interesting. I expect this game to be "have fun getting to max level, then quit" much like CoH was.

 

[The_Liquid_Laser]

I expect this game to be "have fun getting to max level, then quit" much like CoH was.

I much prefer this to the "game begins at max level" design of some MMOs.

 

[Feops]

I much prefer this to the "game begins at max level" design of some MMOs.

I'm somewhat on the fence regarding this opinion. I enjoy both as they have different focuses on how your character improves and explores. Leveling is a broad brush - you see huge amounts of new lands, your powers increase quickly, you're learning the game. Endgame is more precision - you eek into the more difficult places to get to, you refine your gear and abilities, you play with experienced people.

Update on the game itself - pets are pretty broken. Which is a shame as I planned on abusing the freeform advancement to build an army of pets. They'll shoot at boxes and barrels, they have pathing issues with anything outside straight line movements, they idle about half the time, they have no way to follow you around while using travel powers, and their response time is poor. You can still play it but it involves a constant string of resummons and micromanagement.

 

[Totenkindly]

See, MxO was what got me into MMO's in the first place. I loved that game (and the whole universe behind it) but the development of it went to shit. It actually had one of the best beta communities I had seen. It's interface was a bit unique in the MMO genre, but I hadn't played any others up until it, so I was none the wiser.

Yeah, I really really wanted to like it. No kidding. Just really did.

Sigh. Disappointing. It got shut down now, didn't it?
And they killed off Morpheus.

Of course, I could say the same thing about the movies. First one was great, ideas / philosophical infrastructure was wonderful, great fan base... but implementation of the idea/story kept getting worse and worse.

I played CoH for about 6 months at about the same time, and between its travel powers and MxO's hyper jumping, I was so spoiled by the time I played WoW and had to walk everywhere.

I know! At least you only have to wait until level 30 now to get a steed.

I almost quit WoW because of how long it took to walk anywhere, but then all of a sudden it was 4 years later and I am still playing.

Yup, maybe if I had the time and just had more friends there I could make it work. I really did like the world, I just couldn't keep up with the changes and invest enough time to take advantage of it.

(I had a lot of fun soloing my level 60+ pally through lower-level instances, though -- woo hoo!)

First impressions - it is very much city of heroes 2. They recycled and improved a number of animations, though on the whole it is a massive graphical upgrade.

They built upon the character generation somewhat and there are so many more costume options now. There are a zillion different sliders for your body and face. The pre-defined body types seem to do well enough, though I did notice that starting a female hero automatically sets your breast size to "max", which is way out of proportion. Way to put out for your audience Cryptic. Also you can tweak your power colors some.

The interface has no surprises. There's gear, but it slots rather than equips, so it's kinda between WoW and CoH in how it works. Character progression is much less linear, so you can cherry pick powers from all over, though there is a convoluted system of tiers that restricts what you can pick at which levels. There are stats but their purpose is vague at times until you comb through the forums a little.

I haven't grouped yet so that will be interesting. I expect this game to be "have fun getting to max level, then quit" much like CoH was.

Cool, thank you for the run-down.

And yeah, that is what happened to me in CoH. I had a few level 40+ toons, and I finally took my Kin/Fire controller Flarrah (and I developed her before she had become Flavor of the Month ... this was back in late 2005-mid 2006 I think) and soloed her up through level 50... then quit right after.

 

[The_Liquid_Laser]

I'm somewhat on the fence regarding this opinion. I enjoy both as they have different focuses on how your character improves and explores. Leveling is a broad brush - you see huge amounts of new lands, your powers increase quickly, you're learning the game. Endgame is more precision - you eek into the more difficult places to get to, you refine your gear and abilities, you play with experienced people.

I think it's good to have a fun endgame. I just don't like the idea that endgame "is the game". If the game sucks until you get to max level, then the game sucks period. The idea that you have to play for a couple months before you actually start having fun is kinda dumb. (I first encountered this design in EQ, and my opinion is the game sucked.)

 

[Skyward]

CoH was my first 'real' MMO (Runescape when I was 12 doesnt count!) and it's been my recurring game ever since I started in '04. I have a 50 DM/WP brute and a few other characters. I really played the game for the roleplay then. Virtue server, having what seemed like the highest number mature players out of all the servers, has become my little escapist heaven.

I play WoW on and off but have never made it to the level cap. Right now I have a 72 night elf druid on idle. The new expansion looks interesting, though, because of all the new class/race combos (Yay for dorf shammies!) and the new races (I was always wanting the goblins as a playable race... maybe I'll actually play horde more now).

What stinks is that I can't shell out for more than maybe two MMOs a month and I want to try Champions, WoW, and SW:OR, so something will have to be cut. Maybe I'll shanghai my brother into paying for one, if anything I can hope having 'Foreign Exchange Student' on my resume will land me a job...

The eyecandy in MxO was nice. I liked how different it was (and at the time I was a big Matrix fanboy). I just got tired of being stuck in Interlock during important fights and wanted to get back to the awesomesauce that is CoH.

Anyway, back on track. A friend of mine lauds Champions Online for the customizability, and another picks at the generic face youre stuck with and how 'too similar' to CoH it is.

I'm trying it sometime either way.

(And I tried FFXI for a day and couldn't get used to how awkward the controls were. Not my thing. And EQ? I couldn't jump so I felt tied down.)

 

[527468]

I heard this game was extremely fun for a day or two, but then everything gets really repetitive fast.

 

[Totenkindly]

I heard this game was extremely fun for a day or two, but then everything gets really repetitive fast.

I played for 2-3 weeks and got bored fast.

...I remember liking CoH far more.

 

[Feops]

I played for 2-3 weeks and got bored fast.

...I remember liking CoH far more.

Same. I'm not quite sure why though. I didn't glean the same sense of wonderment that I did from city of heroes when it was new.

Maybe it was too similiar to City of Heroes and I just relapsed into "oh that game again". Maybe World of Warcraft raised my expectations. Or maybe I'm just tired of the MMO equation in general. I think that's the big reason- MMOs aren't really known for their really engaging plots or cutting edge gameplay, they focus more on online interaction, and I just can't sink myself into that degree of online socialization again.

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