Ok weird idea hit me just now: What if we had a build choice of taking many powers that were totally different or fewer powers that were broader of scope? Please bear with me this is literally tumbling out as type:
Let's say your concept is a weather-controlling type with a wide variety of powers. As you level up you get a new power choice every other level (for example) and you have at least two choices for what to take after level 6 (arbitrary number). You can play the whole field of Fog, Rain, Wind, Lightning, Flight, Tornado...all of it. The number of slots you get means that some of these powers will not be as effective as others but you'll have lots of choices in the toolbox every fight.
Now let's say you prefer a more narrow focus...something like Lightning Lad...who does ONE thing but he does it a LOT. As you level up you get the same choices at the same times as the weather control guy...but you can elect to simply add MORE effects to one of your basic blasts. So your T1 Blast, that does average damage with 100' range, single target, can now be slotted to become a narrow column AoE that does the same damage but over a column 5' wide. Later on your T2 blast can become a small explosion AoE with different enhancements.
Instead of calling every single power a different thing, why not make similar powers with slightly different effects just extensions of the SAME power? You would wind up with LOTS of slots for a few powers but they would be spread over the various effects. So a basic blast (in CoH terms) might be 1 Acc, 1 End Redux, 1 Recharge and 3 damage. Then you add 1 slot to make it a short AoE column (say 50'), another slot makes it 100' column etc.
Melee guys could do the same. Punch takes the same six slots as the Blast example above. Sweep takes three slots to be 120 degree cone (1 per 40 degrees). Tentpeg takes another slot to add Knockdownand so on.
Sure, you can STILL have a lot of powers with widely different effects that all need to be slotted separately. Or you could use the same number of slots on fewer similar powers for a variety of effects. Basically the player is narrowing their focus (and has fewer choices as a result) in exchange for having a few powers with several special effects.
I remember when Star Wars was cool...a long, long time ago...
So you're volunteering to decide the Game Balance Costs of doing all of these things then? Because I can guarantee you, in writing, that if you were to implement something like this the Min/Max PvPers would have a field day with it at the expense of overall Game Balance.
What you're essentially talking about is effectively Power Stunts (if I'm remembering my Mutants and Masterminds book reference correctly). The additional dimensions of complexity involved in making something like this happen for a game like City of Titans becomes ... prohibitive ... in its reach and scope, I'm thinking.
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[i]Verbogeny is one of many pleasurettes afforded a creatific thinkerizer.[/i][/center]
Meh. Balance is balance. Complexity is relative. Albeit, I tend to agree that combining the two systems (Variety of powers/fewer slots v. fewer powers/more slots) into one game would be an order of magnitude more difficult than one or the other. I think I could like either way, but the first is more "look and feel" like our beloved original. If choices have to be made, I hope and expect the devs will lean that way.
Balance problems from the Original not withstanding, of course. :)
I'm okay with fewer powers with more variety.
If the baselines are set then the effectiveness of your character shouldn't really vary that much. 1000 Damage points = 500 Mez Points = 20 Metres Knockback = Knockdown+250 Damage = 8% Accuracy = (You get the idea)
Purely from a design standpoint if each power is made of 5 "parts" and gets to create the effects of 5 powers I'd wager that it would be very close to what you get when you have a character with 14 powers chosen for them.
That being said.. it's a design goal that I don't really endorse. In some game in the near future, yes I would love it. But its a learning curve that is beyond the amount of work that should be done for this particular game.
Give me archetype mechanics, freeform animations/FX and eventual "power replacers" so i can pick the damage type of my choosing (Maybe I shoot "Soul Flames" instead of actual heat) and I'll be happy.
Crowd Control Enthusiast
Such a thing could work if those various attributes were allowed to be controlled via enhancement buff/defuff slots. For example take a basic blast...we are pretty assured that we'll be able to buff the ACC, DMG, Range, End Cost, Recharge Time...how about being able to buff the Arc? Changing it from a single target to a 15 degree cone with one buff slot, or adding KB to a power via a KB buff enhancement.
It is really just going to depend upon how many of the various attributes that the devs allow us to manipulate via the enhancement mechanism.
I agree with you Red on the sheer complex nature of doing such a thing buuuuuuuut what about having more power selections that we can tailor our power to be more unique. For example the power set (Storm) to keep on topic sorta. You have the basic powers of it then say you might have varied Lightening powers to choose from AOE, Sniper, Hold, this would give you the ability to make your Storm Character different and the balance would not be effected cause its set up already….I'm not great with the coding aspect but being able to tailor every power set provides more originality in everyone creations. Like Black Adam and Shazam have the same base power but different effects.
Through power, I gain Victory
Well there's a tabletop game where they did exactly that...it used to be called Champions and is currently called the Hero System. The idea being that, for example, an Energy Blast is an energy blast, and you spend character points for enhancements to the basic blast power, and define the special effect. For an MMO version, the special effects would, perforce, have to be limited, and any interactions (Like, for example, making Fire blasts extra effective against Ice Shields) would be programmed in (though you would, of course, code in advantages to counteract such interactions, allowing a character with an ice shield to buy "Lessened weakness to Fire (Ice Special Effect advantage)" if he wants it to be a particularly persistent type of ice shield, and so on.
In Champ/HS, you can buy things like "Armor Piercing" (the attack halves the opponent's armor value for each additional half the base cost of the attack spent) while armor could counter that with something like "Peirce resistance" (Half the base cost of the armor, counteracts one layer of "Armor Piercing") and so on.
power sets Meisters Besides the ability to physically grow extra limbs. and use extra limbs for Weapon, Meisters has a number of psychologically-based powers, typically theability to induce memory loss, i.e can't use any ability or power 4 to 6 sec insomnia and insanity in its victims. insanity 20 to 30 sec attack both team and Enemies. insomnia low mana bar hp bar attack and defend. the extent of its power over the mind has seen it creating mindless minions seemingly bent to his will. Meisters physical presence has been shown to induce coughing and sickness, AoE damage it has also been depicted with the ability to warp time and space and teleport.?
whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster and when you look into the abyss, the abyss also look into you, -Friedrich
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Well, in that case, Lightning Lad is not a Weather Summoner, but a Lightning Blaster. As a Blaster, he gets a damage bonus. Problem solved.
I'm not trying to dismiss this as a 'bad idea', sir. I'm trying to say that you're talking about a Complex solution to the problem, instead of a Simple one. Unnecessary complexity can make programming the thing difficult.
Be Well!
Fireheart