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    dev blog
    Jul
    28
    2008

    Ask Cryptic - July 28, 2008

    Posted by Kestrel

    We've got some more Champions Online info for you, with answers about player mods, Xbox 360, the world of Champions Online, blocking, non-combat activities and knockback. Thanks very much to Jackalope, poz, Arkayne, Heretic and Absinthe for their answers!

    There have been many mentions of tools being developed for player use, in terms of modding and creating content. Though player-generated content may not be viable on release, would it be reasonable to expect the players to submit content to Champions Online in the future, or an expansion? (Kalt)

    Jackalope (Chief Creative Officer): 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.

    I have watched all the videos from your media day. I am concerned about the controls for our characters. How viable will it be to control a character with the mouse/keyboard combo? (Modefan93)

    poz (Director of Game Programming): Although the game is playable and is great on a controller, we are putting in just as much time and effort into keyboard and mouse control. It will play naturally and feel like a "regular" MMORPG.

    How worried should console gamers be since this has not received the concept approval from Microsoft? (samuraiwahoo)

    Arkayne (Lead Designer): Worry no more, samuraiwahoo! Champions Online is an Xbox360 (and PC) game.

    The teaser trailer shows three outdoor locations: The Frozen North, a Volcano, and a Jungle. I read on the forums that one of the locations will be a Desert. Will there be other locations such as: Mountains, Underwater, Outer Space, or Virtual Reality? (noldrek)

    Arkayne: We plan to provide our players a vast world, noldrek! What we've shown so far is just a few of the locations available for play in Champions Online. We plan to show a whole lot more as we continue to build content for our game. Be sure to keep checking back on the web site as we reveal more locations to explore in the Champions Universe.

    Non-fighting gameplay elements: What will there be between the fighting? Can you give us more information on the invention system? Will we level in our non-fighting skills? (exailious)

    Arkayne: We do plan to have a number of non-combat activities in game, exailious! Some missions involve more investigation or puzzle-solving, and we have a crafting system that will allow players to create useful devices and upgrades. We also have a rewards system that encourages players to explore the Champions Universe. We'll be posting more on the crafting and exploration rewards in future dev blog articles.

    Will players be able to hold the block button and block continuously or does one have to press it for each attack? ... Also, does successful blocking on CO equate to taking no damage or just reduced damage compared to what one would have taken if they hadn't blocked the attack? (SUNMAN)

    Heretic (Lead Powers Designer): Players will press and hold the block button to stay in a blocking state. Blocking will reduce much – although not all – of the incoming damage. Against some kinds of attacks, blocking may have additional benefits.

    Will there be damage linked to Knockback [based on what they have been knocked back into]? (Certified)

    Heretic: Most knockback attacks have damage built into the actual knockback, but no additional damage is factored in to take into account what they were knocked back into. However, you can knock a foe back into a damaging environment such as lava or toxic pools, and your foe will take continuous damage until they escape the hostile environment.

    During costume creation, will we be able to upload our own images? You know, say we belong to a sweet supergroup like Watchfire, and we have created and voted on a team logo; I would like to put that emblem on the chest or belt of my hero. (Adino)

    Absinthe (Lead Character Artist): We have no plans to allow player-uploaded images at launch. However, Cryptic is always looking into more ways to incorporate player-generated content so this may be a possibility in the future.

    Talk about this in the forums!