Interviews
Cryptic’s Jack Emmert takes a few moments from polishing Issue 3 of City of Heroes to talk about what lies ahead for gamers
New archetypes, universal chat are just some of the changes heading for Paragon City
The Kheldians are coming! The Kheldians are coming!
Well, not only are new unlockable archetypes appearing in the third issue of Cryptic Studio and NCsoft’s hit massively multiplayer online game, City of Heroes, but players will find a new interface which allows for universal chat as well as tweaks to give each zone a unique feel.
The next issue of CoH is the third and one that will eat up 150 megs in download space, which markedly increased the space that the game is taking up on hard drives.
Since the release of the game “we’ve added about 450 megs of content,” stated Cryptic’s Jack Emmert. “By update 4 we will have doubled the size of the original game.”
With updates of this size and depth of in-game experience, it seemed that Cryptic might have been able to offer the updates as paid expansion rather than free downloads. But Emmert pointed to the NCsoft’s Lineage games and the way that updates, or chapters are added there.
“We really wanted to give something free for the subscription,” he said. “And it worked well for Lineage, so we wanted to.”
Issue 3 of City of Heroes features a new archetype slot which players can unlock when any character they have reaches level 50. But the Kheldians are just the tip of the new archetype iceberg, and Emmert was quick to point out that “In the future for other archetypes, the bar will not be so high.”
So how do the Kheldians fit into the world of Paragon City, the City of Heroes?
“These are archetypes which relate to the story of City of Heroes,” Emmert said. “That’s a big issue about moving the storyline forward. People who read comic books love the background. And that’s what we are trying to do.”
While players will certainly learn more about the council, when they join up with the Kheldians gamers will also get glimpses into the world of the coming Cryptic title, City of Villains, as well.
The Kheldian storyline is about creating a robust environment – one with a rich story that continually evolves and lures gamers in for a tantalizing gaming experience. Emmert said that it has been his goal to “create a full experience. I have an idea in my mind and we are not there yet. We want to hit that magic mark and we will keep going. I just want to make the experience of playing City of Heroes just like my childhood comic-book experience. I want to give gamers that feeling.”
To that end, he said that everything is mapped out on a grand five-year plan. But he also said that there was room for flexibility within that framework as fan feedback is received.
But the new Issue is just not about the Kheldians. There is a “new chat system which allows players to create a universal chat handle for talking across servers and three mini-events that happen on occasion in a few zones,” Emmert said.
The mini-events include a ghost ship that appears at night, a giant octopus that attacks the piers and clockwork building a giant robot. The objective is that “every zone will get its own unique touch,” Emmert said.
Other additions to CoH include:
Epic Power Pools: Heroes who have reached Security Level 41 will be given access to a new set of Power Pools—the Epic Power Pools. This will be, in essence, a 5th Power Pool from which Heroes can draw powers.
The Kheldian slot: There are two archetypes to choose from: Peacebringers, which are “Natural” Kheldians who have merged with human beings, and the Warshade, which represents the fusion of a human with a Kheldian who has undergone radical scientific experiments to become a Nictus, a being of pure darkness. Though most Nictus feed on the life forces of others, the Warshades have seen the error of their ways and wish to redeem themselves by acting as legitimate heroes in the fight against their dark brethren. Peacebringers use any Enhancement a Natural Hero can, while Warshades can use the same Enhancements as Science Heroes.
Share
Glink It