Ask Cryptic - October 6, 2008
Today we're answering community questions on fighting styles and animations, power advantages, missions and... tails! Thanks to Arkayne, Heretic and Absinthe for their answers!
When you're helping the super-science Project Greenskin base under attack by radioactive mutants you'll see guards shouting orders and firing on the attacking creatures while you repair the auto-turrets outside the base. When you go into the Stronghold super-villain prison you'll have a team of SPARC guards waiting on you to show up so they can head in with your hero to take on the rioting prisoners and mind-controlled guards inside. In short, we're trying to make you feel like your character is part of a larger world.
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FacebookAsk Cryptic - September 15, 2008
Today we're answering community questions on testing, controls, powers, stealth and costumes. Thanks very much to our development team for taking time out of their busy schedules to answer these!
We are working very hard to make the transition from keyboard and mouse to controller (and back) as natural as possible. The feedback has been very positive from players who have recent hands-on experience at conventions!
Gen Con 2008 Report!
Now that everyone is back from our whirlwind round of conventions, we have a report about life at Gen Con 2008.
It was so great to be able to introduce hundreds of new people to our game – including interacting with objects. I got my first chance to pick up and throw things around in-game right before the dealer's room opened on Thursday morning, and I was having so much fun I didn't want to stop!
Jack's Gen Con Holiday
Chief creative officer Jack Emmert's favorite holiday is Gen Con. Find out what was on his shopping list at this year's convention.
Warmachine and Hordes are both devastatingly awesome minis games by Privateer Press. We have a league here at the company. I can't recommend this highly enough.
Ask Cryptic - August 13, 2008
Today we're answering community questions on destructible objects, role-playing, powers, space and costumes. Thanks to Arkayne and Absinthe for their answers!
We've got awesome weapon-izing and throwing of environmental objects throughout our game, Ex_Machina! Check out our excellent hands-on demo at GenCon 2008 and you'll see first-hand what your heroes can do! If you can't make the convention, be sure to watch our web site for follow-up articles.
Ask Cryptic - July 28, 2008
We've got some more Champions Online info for you, with answers about player mods, controllers, the world of Champions Online, blocking, non-combat activities and knockback. Thanks very much to Jackalope, poz, Arkayne, Heretic and Absinthe for their answers!
Cryptic certainly believes that there's no better place to find creativity than the players themselves. And we do believe that user generated content is an important part of our future games. As time passes and our features become set, we'll certainly be introducing them to Champions Online players. While at the moment, Champions Online scratches the surface with the Nemesis system, costume creation, power selection and power customization, look to see us continue to open the door for more player-generated material.
Ask Cryptic - July 11, 2008
Ask Cryptic is back with answers on levels, hard numbers, mez powers, knockback and costumes. Thanks very much to Arkayne, Heretic and Absinthe for their answers!
We will have capes, wings, horns, spines and backpacks (which include jetpacks, etc.). We are still finalizing the details on whether or not we can get your weapons to display on your back all the time. But don’t worry – there will be plenty to choose from!
Fire Up the Grill
In June, Cryptic's directors set a goal for the company. Play Champions Online for a total of 600 hours on nights and weekends. Everyone in the company was expected to create characters, run missions, form teams, document bugs and make suggestions on what we can do to make Champions Online a better game, one that's just plain fun to play.
If we could do it, the directors would give the company a barbeque to celebrate.
Something's different at Cryptic
We've changed how we work at Cryptic to create a better finished product for the players. Jack Emmert tells us what's new:
Cryptic was founded way back in July, 2000 and has developed and released two MMORPG products and we are currently working on three projects right now. Champions Online is the closest to release and has the largest team by far. But what's changed over the years? What have we learned from developing and maintaining City of Heroes?
Ask Cryptic - June 19, 2008
Our Ask Cryptic feature returns with the answers to community questions about combat, updates, villains and character creation. Thanks to Jackalope, poz, Arkayne, Heretic and Absinthe for their answers!
We are working to incentivize movement and choices. When that mob charges up, do I have time to try to move behind that pillar, or should I block and reduce most of the damage? That villain is doing tons of damage, but he is lifetapping his henchmen – do I target the villain or the henchmen first? We've already talked about how many powers can be charged up – frequently charging up a power will increase or otherwise modify how wide the radius or area of effect is.
