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Different Types of Missions: AKA Stop Making Me Kill Rats!

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Safehouse
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Different Types of Missions: AKA Stop Making Me Kill Rats!

Hi everybody!

I wasn't sure if this topic has been done before; didn't see anything on it when I was looking through this forum. While missions have been discussed, I haven't seen them discussed in the context for which I am looking.

One thing that has been on my mind, and an idea that has sprung from my thoughts on this, is the importance of different types of missions. My problem with a lot of MMOs is that their missions all feel samey. Insert tired joke about hunting rats for their tails here. So I wanted to mention an MMO that, in my opinion, really does missions and quests right: The Secret World. For the game's flaws, it has an amazing mission structure.

TSW has a few different types of missions: the story mission, main missions, sabotage missions, and investigation missions. It also has side missions, which are basically little things you do while you're running around doing those other big missions. Run into an overturned mail truck with parcels on the ground? Well, might as well grab a couple of the packages; if I pass the house to which they were being sent while I'm fighting zombies and draugr, I'll deliver them. Why not, right? Once this hell blows over the town should return to normal-ish soon enough, right? Right? I like those.

But what I really want to draw your attention to are the sabotage missions and investigation missions. These are the missions that really pull you completely into the game, make you become that much more invested. With these missions, you can't just barrel through and expect to successfully complete them. Sabotage missions require you to do the opposite, to avoid confrontation and avoid being seen by enemies or cameras in order to sneak in and achieve your goal, which can be to steal a piece of information, hack into a computer or terminal, etc. etc.

The investigation missions? Now that's where it gets extra fun. These are the missions that require to think, use your head, do research. These missions are why there's a built in browser in TSW. I've found myself looking up biblical passages, books by obscure authors, morse code, poetry, mathematical codes, computer programming jargon, the works. It's a really great way of making the world of TSW more alive. The missions don't mark on a map for you where you have to go (not all the time at least); your job is to figure it out. And the devs really went whole hog on this - they created full on professional websites for their in-game factions, which you can use in your investigations. It's a reminder that the game takes place in a modern world. Not only that, but the missions in TSW really help flesh out the world.

Everything, from the investigations to the little side stories, tell you a piece of lore about the game, about the world, about the zone you're in, or even just about the character with whom you're speaking.

This is the kind of stuff I would love to see in City of Titans, albeit with an understandably different tone from that of a horror game like The Secret World. Quests that involve more than "killing Hellions," involve looking around and doing digging - really getting into the WORLD of our new home, to solve a mystery, or learn that there's more going on than initially meets the eye, or to figure out the secret to ending a conflict (like a zombie invasion).

Name: Safehouse
Ranger: Gunner
Primary: Force Blast
Secondary: Atrophic Aura
Tertiary: Kinetic Melee
Travel Power: Parkour
Status: Traveling. Following rumors of a huge city in Massachusetts that is teeming with supers.

Dark Ether
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The investigate missions were

The investigate missions were interesting for the most part. I have rarely bookmarked so many web sites just for a game before TSW. The only drawback I saw was that some were in depth enough that you almost felt like you should quit the game and browse the internet for a while and look up references to solve them, which I think was going a mite far. It really resulted more in people linking to a walk-through site and ignoring the other stuff to an extent because they wanted to keep playing, which I understand completely.

I think such things have their place, and as long as they don't draw a player away from actually playing the game, I'd be all for it.

(insert pithy comment here)

Safehouse
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Dark Ether wrote:
Dark Ether wrote:

The investigate missions were interesting for the most part. I have rarely bookmarked so many web sites just for a game before TSW. The only drawback I saw was that some were in depth enough that you almost felt like you should quit the game and browse the internet for a while and look up references to solve them, which I think was going a mite far. It really resulted more in people linking to a walk-through site and ignoring the other stuff to an extent because they wanted to keep playing, which I understand completely.
I think such things have their place, and as long as they don't draw a player away from actually playing the game, I'd be all for it.

Oh yes, I quite agree there. Some of the investigation mishes in TSW get crazy and a little unintuitive. It's one of those things that, like so many things, needs a balance. It would be cool to have it be solvable, but not easy, but also not stupidly hard to figure out. It's a good spice. I've always loved the superheroes who do genuine detective work to find solutions to things. Mysteries are cool :).

Sadly some of the mishes in TSW are so complicated that the only thing you find when searching for clues is a straight up walkthrough, as you said.

Name: Safehouse
Ranger: Gunner
Primary: Force Blast
Secondary: Atrophic Aura
Tertiary: Kinetic Melee
Travel Power: Parkour
Status: Traveling. Following rumors of a huge city in Massachusetts that is teeming with supers.

Darth Fez
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This put an idea in my head

This put an idea in my head in conjunction with lore, specifically as it relates to prominent NPCs.

Rather than have the Freedom Phalanx level types direct you to beat up some Tsoo, because they couldn't be bothered, have them ask PCs to help in a support role. E.g. They're going to kick down the front door and need someone to sneak in the side door to hook the soporific gas into the sprinkler system.

Such missions could even entail some preliminary work rather than jumping straight in.

That would appeal to me as a means to get exposure to such NPCs and enemy groups (before actually fighting them).

- - - - -
Hail Beard!

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Dark Ether
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Infiltration missions could

Infiltration missions could be a thing, and could be quite interesting.

(insert pithy comment here)

Safehouse
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Darth Fez wrote:
Darth Fez wrote:

This put an idea in my head in conjunction with lore, specifically as it relates to prominent NPCs.
Rather than have the Freedom Phalanx level types direct you to beat up some Tsoo, because they couldn't be bothered, have them ask PCs to help in a support role. E.g. They're going to kick down the front door and need someone to sneak in the side door to hook the soporific gas into the sprinkler system.
Such missions could even entail some preliminary work rather than jumping straight in.
That would appeal to me as a means to get exposure to such NPCs and enemy groups (before actually fighting them).

I could see something like this working really well! With one caveat: how it's presented could run the risk of making you feel more like a sidekick rather than your own hero. Of all the things that I detest about DCUO, this has been my biggest problem with it. I'm never a true, big hero in my own right, always stuck in the shadow of Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman et al. I feel perpetually relegated to the role of sidekick and errand boy. DCUO, I feel, is an example of this idea gone wrong, taken too much to the extreme.

I love the idea of accompanying the iconic hero on a Tsoo raid early on - while he/she does the barging through you do the real infiltration dirty work. I could see that going into you kind of stumbling upon a plot much bigger than what our iconic hero was expecting - a warehouse raid unveils an insidious scheme. It could even help start your PC on a story to step out of your mentor's shadow, or could even start your PC down the path to becoming a rival or arch enemy to your mentor. It would open up so many awesome lore avenues!

Name: Safehouse
Ranger: Gunner
Primary: Force Blast
Secondary: Atrophic Aura
Tertiary: Kinetic Melee
Travel Power: Parkour
Status: Traveling. Following rumors of a huge city in Massachusetts that is teeming with supers.

Radiac
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I think that missions which

I think that missions which require research would b e fun and have their place. I would want to the ability to do that research while doing the mission tho. In GW2, if you have to type /wiki to read the wiki while doing a complicated thing (jumping puzzles, mostly) then you have to be careful where you park your character when decide to stop playing and start researching on the wiki, because if you pick a bad spot a monster will spawn there and eat you while you're reading the wiki.

That said I also like missions which have straight-up fights against NPCs that require something other than the usual tank ans spank tactics. In GW2 this often takes the form of a boss you can't beat with your normal attacks, but then boss is in a room that allows you to maneuver in such a way that you can drop his invulnerability occasionally by doing the thing, or maybe you have yo use special weapons against him, like the Rikti Octopus head in the Abandoned Sewer Trial, etc.

I think both are good and would like to have SOME of that stuff, for those of us who would enjoy it, but the game still needs hack and blast hero play too. Let's not try to turn it into Zork 2.0.

R.S.O. of Phoenix Rising

Safehouse
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Oh sure, I'm just suggesting

Oh sure, I'm just suggesting options for some additional types of missions. You need the hack and blast stuff, always.

But if i am accosted by the terrible troll, i will attack with nasty knife :P

Name: Safehouse
Ranger: Gunner
Primary: Force Blast
Secondary: Atrophic Aura
Tertiary: Kinetic Melee
Travel Power: Parkour
Status: Traveling. Following rumors of a huge city in Massachusetts that is teeming with supers.

notears
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Oh yeah investigative

Oh yeah investigative missions would be fun, maybe not ones as dependent on studying real world history as the ones in TSW, as that was more of a monster hunting MMO, aka something that's supposed to take place in our world, since this is a supers MMO and something that doesn't take place in our world, such a thing doesn't really make sense. If we do have an investigative mission, I want it to be more like the batman Arkham games, more puzzle solving, less researching our own world. It could also be fun if these investigative elements where hidden in other missions to, like you wouldn't even know that they where there, but you may see some things that may be a miss, and from these different hidden puzzles you could unlock a special enhancement, or something that the bad guy was trying to hide or you could find a secret contact you can only call by phone, stuff like that.

not my video just one I lke ===> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6-SdIN0hsM

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Instead of browsing the whole

Instead of browsing the whole internet for clues, what if one had to visit 'CoT-Wiki' and dig through the Lore?? So, that random 'spider emblem' you find turns into a clue to something more interesting and you have to show it to your contacts, or make New contacts to develop the rest of the story? That could make investigative missions work!

Be Well!
Fireheart

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To be completely honest, TSWs

To be completely honest, TSWs investigation missions more often than not lead to me looking up Quest Walkthroughs, rather than researching the actual topics involved.

Huckleberry
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Fireheart wrote:
Fireheart wrote:

Instead of browsing the whole internet for clues, what if one had to visit 'CoT-Wiki' and dig through the Lore?? So, that random 'spider emblem' you find turns into a clue to something more interesting and you have to show it to your contacts, or make New contacts to develop the rest of the story? That could make investigative missions work!

One of the standard tropes of the superhero genre is the computer hacker ally who's always providing just the right amount of information at just the right time to move the plot along.

We really should take advantage of this to give access to all sorts of in-game information and updates. If we made it one of our first missions to save some teenage hacker (to stick entirely with the trope) from some nefarious organization he or she had accidentally hacked into. That NPC then becomes our real-time provider of all things obscure. Want to check out details about an organization? call your hacker ally. Need to find the next clue to advance a mission? Call your hacker ally. Need to see some camera feed to identify your target? call your hacker ally.

The devs could use this ally and even create a dedicated UI for dealing with this ally and make it an integral part of the game.


I like to take your ideas and supersize them. This isn't criticism, it is flattery. I come with nothing but good will and a spirit of team-building. If you take what I write any other way, that is probably just because I wasn't very clear.
Safehouse
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Huckleberry wrote:
Huckleberry wrote:

Fireheart wrote:
Instead of browsing the whole internet for clues, what if one had to visit 'CoT-Wiki' and dig through the Lore?? So, that random 'spider emblem' you find turns into a clue to something more interesting and you have to show it to your contacts, or make New contacts to develop the rest of the story? That could make investigative missions work!
One of the standard tropes of the superhero genre is the computer hacker ally who's always providing just the right amount of information at just the right time to move the plot along.
We really should take advantage of this to give access to all sorts of in-game information and updates. If we made it one of our first missions to save some teenage hacker (to stick entirely with the trope) from some nefarious organization he or she had accidentally hacked into. That NPC then becomes our real-time provider of all things obscure. Want to check out details about an organization? call your hacker ally. Need to find the next clue to advance a mission? Call your hacker ally. Need to see some camera feed to identify your target? call your hacker ally.
The devs could use this ally and even create a dedicated UI for dealing with this ally and make it an integral part of the game.

Haha yes! The ever-important hacker ally. What if there's an actual scenario, though, which leads to you building a relationship with that hacker ally? Like he's not immediately a friend of yours, even after that mission in which you save him, but rather one of your first contacts. I always felt like there could have been more taken from our relationships with contacts in CoH. These kinds of elements for characters, including hacker frond,
could be unlocked once you maxed out the contact. Instead of "I have no more I can ask of you, why not go to so-and-so" there could be an actual interaction with various contacts at all levels. Why not have hacker ally help with investigations? Why not have Gabby Cabby become your wheels? Or a doctor/nurse friend who can come to help you when you're defeated (take you to a closer safe spot than the hospital, or maybe back to your hideout)?

Name: Safehouse
Ranger: Gunner
Primary: Force Blast
Secondary: Atrophic Aura
Tertiary: Kinetic Melee
Travel Power: Parkour
Status: Traveling. Following rumors of a huge city in Massachusetts that is teeming with supers.

Huckleberry
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Safehouse wrote:
Safehouse wrote:

What if there's an actual scenario, though, which leads to you building a relationship with that hacker ally? Like he's not immediately a friend of yours, even after that mission in which you save him, but rather one of your first contacts. I always felt like there could have been more taken from our relationships with contacts in CoH. These kinds of elements for characters, including hacker frond,
could be unlocked once you maxed out the contact. Instead of "I have no more I can ask of you, why not go to so-and-so" there could be an actual interaction with various contacts at all levels. Why not have hacker ally help with investigations? Why not have Gabby Cabby become your wheels? Or a doctor/nurse friend who can come to help you when you're defeated (take you to a closer safe spot than the hospital, or maybe back to your hideout)?

I love ideas like this. Any opportunity to tell story rather than just making it happen should be taken.


I like to take your ideas and supersize them. This isn't criticism, it is flattery. I come with nothing but good will and a spirit of team-building. If you take what I write any other way, that is probably just because I wasn't very clear.
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Hacker ally. Why not Wizened

Hacker ally. Why not Wizened old magician. Donna the Gossip. Gabby Cabby. News paper journalist/blogger. I think there are ways for MWM to feed players key information during missions to progress the plot without making them feel like side kicks being told what to do. Towards the end you started to see some missions that did this. There was less text up front and more tidbits of information as the mission progressed. It's much more engaging.

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I'd like 'Librarian of

I'd like 'Librarian of Alexandria' or maybe 'Janitor at the Police Station' as contacts. 'Crazy Old Cat Lady', who may be old, but not crazy, and used to be a super-powered somebody. Let's have 'living history' in the form of living historical super-figures, like 'Captain Orbit'.

Let's go crazy with 'Easter Egg' Contacts. You do a little side-mission and suddenly you've unearthed a trove of nearly forgotten Lore!

Be Well!
Fireheart

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RELEVANT LINKS ARE RELEVENT!!

not my video just one I lke ===> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6-SdIN0hsM

Darth Fez
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Huckleberry wrote:
Huckleberry wrote:
Fireheart wrote:

Instead of browsing the whole internet for clues, what if one had to visit 'CoT-Wiki' and dig through the Lore?? So, that random 'spider emblem' you find turns into a clue to something more interesting and you have to show it to your contacts, or make New contacts to develop the rest of the story? That could make investigative missions work!

One of the standard tropes of the superhero genre is the computer hacker ally who's always providing just the right amount of information at just the right time to move the plot along.

I'm hoping that the Cape Chasers will be an in-game thing and even an actual source of (mis-)information.

I was thinking that the clues system would be one means for us to obtain the necessary information to help the, at the time, "larger" heroes. Either by specifically looking for such clues or putting together the clues that they may require help (and then either just showing up to help or going there to volunteer our help).

- - - - -
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Support trap clowns for CoT!

Safehouse
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Fireheart wrote:
Fireheart wrote:

I'd like 'Librarian of Alexandria' or maybe 'Janitor at the Police Station' as contacts. 'Crazy Old Cat Lady', who may be old, but not crazy, and used to be a super-powered somebody. Let's have 'living history' in the form of living historical super-figures, like 'Captain Orbit'.
Let's go crazy with 'Easter Egg' Contacts. You do a little side-mission and suddenly you've unearthed a trove of nearly forgotten Lore!
Be Well!
Fireheart

Yes yes I like! Those are the things that make a world and a game so much richer. Yeah, maybe it's not relevant to what's currently going on in the main story of the game, but it gives it a bit more color, a bit more flavor.

Name: Safehouse
Ranger: Gunner
Primary: Force Blast
Secondary: Atrophic Aura
Tertiary: Kinetic Melee
Travel Power: Parkour
Status: Traveling. Following rumors of a huge city in Massachusetts that is teeming with supers.