One of the things I have felt is that comic-inspired games don't do enough to capture flavor; I for one would like to see the option to have a toggle for "comic-effects" to display when fighting, or perhaps even with initial activation of certain powers like travel. Think the old Batman show animated texts in bubbles when they hit someone, etc. I realize this is not to everyone's taste, but it is pretty cool and easily done (I would think) and for some of us anyway adds quite a bit of that dramatic comic book feel.
—
Just remember - CoT is in the spirit of CoH, it is not CoH!
I don't like this.
Modern Comics for me.. focus on the storytelling and avoid as much of the silver age camp as possible for me.
The above is my opinion
Crowd Control Enthusiast
graphic effects filter?
sort of like how Champs has the "black outline" option.... so if you want a more "silver age" experience, you can turn on the filter that gives you visuals for attack sounds?
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[i]....Fly me to the moon and let me play among the stars...[/i]
Notice I said it as an *option* for additional graphic effects; modern comics still do this though from what I have seen though perhaps more subtly inserted.
If it weren't exceedingly easy to implement (and with a toggle) I would never suggest it. I for one however hate the comic-book outlining effect though personally, but I would never take it away as an option.
Just remember - CoT is in the spirit of CoH, it is not CoH!
Exactly!
Just remember - CoT is in the spirit of CoH, it is not CoH!
Considering that it would be strictly cosmetic and optional, I wouldn't have a problem with it.
Would biffs and pows be any more jarring to the 'reality' of the game as seeing damage numbers and 'dodged!' and 'critical strike!' float off a target?
Former Online Community Manager & Forum Moderator
[img]http://missingworldsmedia.com/images/favicon.ico[/img]
Dude, you completely forgot [url=http://paragonwiki.com/wiki/April_Fools%27_Day#Article:_City_Of_Heroes_Announces_Visual_Sounds.21]FREEM![/url]
Be Well!
Fireheart
I'm weird that way - I kind of like seeing damage numbers for my toons - and I am a big Silver Age fan, so give me all the "FREEM" and "ZA-KOWWWW" effects you can!
Just remember - CoT is in the spirit of CoH, it is not CoH!
zombie man... can we get a filter that makes our damage numbers look like comic book sound effects? :D :P
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[i]....Fly me to the moon and let me play among the stars...[/i]
So long as this renders client side and can be disabled I could go for this. Normally it would not be welcome but some nights running a particularly punny alt it could be gold.
-joe
Repeat Offender
Tank Addict
Homeless.
Replace [b]MISS![/b] with [b]WHIFF![/b]
Replace [b]CRITICAL[/b] with [b]KAPOWIE![/b] or [b]BAM![/b]
[center][img=44x100]https://i.imgur.com/sMUQ928.gif[/img]
[i]Verbogeny is one of many pleasurettes afforded a creatific thinkerizer.[/i][/center]
The next day: instructions posted online for how to customize the words by hacking your client.
[i]Has anyone seen my mind? It was right here...[/i]
I want my damage to always say 9999, so I can feel like knights of the round, all the time!
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[i]....Fly me to the moon and let me play among the stars...[/i]
Ah ... [url=http://finalfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/Knights_of_the_Round_%28Summon%29]Knights Of The Get Up And Go And Make A Sandwich[/url] ...
[center][img=44x100]https://i.imgur.com/sMUQ928.gif[/img]
[i]Verbogeny is one of many pleasurettes afforded a creatific thinkerizer.[/i][/center]
some pleasures you never grow out of, Red ;P
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[i]....Fly me to the moon and let me play among the stars...[/i]
Yeah - I really like this idea (though I would still like a damage counter on a toggle too).
Just remember - CoT is in the spirit of CoH, it is not CoH!
I don't want those either. When I want numbers data I'll look to the combat log.
Crowd Control Enthusiast
That reminds me of a thought I had long ago.
Assuming you have the foe name/faction showing over his head or wherever, what if the font color shifted to show enemy health status rather than displaying a meter or bar?
Would be a bit more immersive. Of course that would only work for one status, but did anyone actually watch endurance state on CoH? Assuming of course that foes will even use such a thing in the new game.
-joe
Repeat Offender
Tank Addict
Homeless.
Don't like the idea of the whole "freem". Champions has it and I find it annoying. I remember CoX asked if we wanted and the majority said no. I like seeing the damage numbers, the healing numbers, critical strike etc but silver age comic words to take the place of sound effects with big flash bubbles going BOOM, or FREEM.
Now, surely you wouldn't be opposed to it being a client side view option you could turn on or off? No one is saying take the place of sound effects, only to enhance the experience with a set of damage-level effects (like criticals) for flavor.
Just remember - CoT is in the spirit of CoH, it is not CoH!
As long as you can turn it off
Instead of that,
i rather have the option to Turn On/Off a swing particle effect (like the one below)
that i would only see myself.
[img]http://i.imgur.com/KLkQkJr.png[/img]
or
[img]http://cdn.3godkings.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/poison-streetfighter-x-tekken.jpg[/img]
and allow us to change the colors a little. :)
and if its electric melee:
ex:
[img]http://cdn.medialib.computerandvideogames.com/screens/dir_2350/image_235006_fit_620.jpg[/img]
it wouldnt be too far fetched, since i think some comic books do have a trail depicted sometimes following an attack. ;D
ex:
[img]http://imgc.allpostersimages.com/images/P-473-488-90/51/5129/2VKEG00Z/posters/marvel-comics-retro-mighty-thor-comic-panel-swinging-hammer.jpg[/img]
In Unreal Engine, it would probably just use a single mesh and a Flipbook (its like an Animated .GIF) :)
Client side only and as an option (Combat Data = Numbers, None, Comics, or maybe even combo Numbers and Comics = KA-BOOOOOM [1000]
The Phoenix Rising Initiative Rules Lawyer
I actually would like to see a swing particle effect - I just assumed there would be some since they are pretty common effects.
Just remember - CoT is in the spirit of CoH, it is not CoH!
I am surprised people are thinking that we are saying this instead of a sound effect - that is not the case. All I am proposing is a toggle for a extra visual effect on a critical that would be seen client side. It may have been voted down in CoX, but this not that series ;)
I'm just surprised how minimalist people are in this, it must be a generational thing since people seem to want less, not more, comic book flavor. As an old man (relatively), I recall when all we had were comics before video games ;)
Just remember - CoT is in the spirit of CoH, it is not CoH!
I remember 'before video games', too. My objection to this is the idea of 'visual spam'. Because I know that this isn't going to be *Biff!* *BAM!* *Pow!* at some dramatic moment in a fight.
It's going to be more like *Biff!* *BAM!* *Pow!* *Biff!* *BAM!* *Pow!* *Biff!* *BAM!* *Pow!* *Biff!* *BAM!* *Pow!* *Biff!* *BAM!* *Pow!* *Biff!* *BAM!* *Pow!* *Biff!* *BAM!* *Pow!* *Biff!* *BAM!* *Pow!* *Biff!* *BAM!* *Pow!* *Biff!* *BAM!* *Pow!* *Biff!* *BAM!* *Pow!* *Biff!* *BAM!* *Pow!* *Biff!* *BAM!* *Pow!* *Biff!* *BAM!* *Pow!* *Biff!* *BAM!* *Pow!* *Biff!* *BAM!* *Pow!* *Biff!* *BAM!* *Pow!* *Biff!* *BAM!* *Pow!* *Biff!* *BAM!* *Pow!* *Biff!* *BAM!* *Pow!* *Biff!* *BAM!* *Pow!* *Biff!* *BAM!* *Pow!* *Biff!* *BAM!* *Pow!* *Biff!* *BAM!* *Pow!* *Biff!* *BAM!* *Pow!* *Biff!* *BAM!* *Pow!* *Biff!* *BAM!* *Pow!* *Biff!* *BAM!* *Pow!* *Biff!* *BAM!* *Pow!* *Biff!* *BAM!* *Pow!* *Biff!* *BAM!* *Pow!* *FREEM!*
All... Day... Long.
I swear, I will STOP HITTING Bad-Guys just to give my eyes a rest.
Be Well!
Fireheart
As mentioned in another thread requesting input re:gfx. I can see the appeal of particle stream swing effect and the bang! pow! Biff! effect could be nice for more comedic endeavors.
I would strongly recommend all such things be client side and optional. There are a few reasons for this.......
1.While any one type of effect could be low impact, the totality of such things could be a performance drag for some on the lower end of PCs. Think of the minimal costumes for hami raids we used to have to do.
2.Not all players have the same level of situational awareness, having a screen be to busy may make it difficult to wrangle loose aggro, see which team mate needs a heal or a buff, or make it hard to spot that priority target.
3.Individual effects can be fairly mild but may be surprisingly overwhelming in combination.I ran into a somewhat severe case in the last game when I ran a ss/elec brute. Rage+Overload combined to make a mini supernova that made it physically difficult to look directly at the screen on even lower brightness levels.
4.It would be a shame to have smooth animations, and careful crafted costumes to be buried in the contents of a crayola box.
Once again for emphasis I am not saying don't put the code in, just give it an off switch.
-joe
Repeat Offender
Tank Addict
Homeless.
Hmm... maybe to cut it back, but still have something: critical hits only?
[i]Has anyone seen my mind? It was right here...[/i]
That's the idea - perhaps have criticals to get a little splash on the screen. Seriously, no one is suggesting overloading the screen with effects (which really, being sprites do nothing in terms of performance). The idea is to add a little more comic book flavor. Judging by the majority of posts here we seem to be in a phase where adding more of a classic comic feel is out of favor an "cinematic realism" rules the day.
Someone commented that this was annoying in CO, I wonder if they realized that these effects actually were done on bosses (the only time they occured) to show groups what attack type was coming, say "FREEM" to indicate a close-AOE, "KHOOM" showing a forward firing column of damage, etc. I thought the game mechanic worked very well and was not intrusive in the least, but to each his own I suppose.
Just remember - CoT is in the spirit of CoH, it is not CoH!
Heh. I always thought Freem was some kind of soda-pop, and the villains were doing product placement for their sponsor. :D
Yes - they are all derivatives of the original "POP" effect :)
Just remember - CoT is in the spirit of CoH, it is not CoH!
City of Heroes did this [url=http://paragonwiki.com/wiki/April_Fools%27_Day#2008]in 2008[/url].
[img]http://paragonwiki.com/w/images//d/d1/Sounds_1.jpg[/img]
[img]http://paragonwiki.com/w/images//b/b4/Sounds_2.jpg[/img]
[img]http://paragonwiki.com/w/images//9/9d/Sounds_3.jpg[/img]
[center][img=44x100]https://i.imgur.com/sMUQ928.gif[/img]
[i]Verbogeny is one of many pleasurettes afforded a creatific thinkerizer.[/i][/center]
Both of those approaches to effects should be optional, imo. The numbers and whatnot don't bug me, but I can see how they might annoy some folks.
Anyway, when it comes to gaudy BIFFFs and such, I don't think reality or immersion is the issue so much as the risk I see of it being campy. One reason I could never warm to CO was that it felt to me like everything was served up with a vibe of "lol comics". I think it is fine to have the option for folks who will be amused by it, though. I'd suggest it be off by default, but I guess you can "focus group" that part. :/
Global: @Second Chances
SG: Fusion Force
"And it's not what I wanted
Oh no, it's not what I planned
See it's not where I thought I'd be
It's just where I am"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZHwxIL9oYo
Crowd Control Enthusiast
This is a valid point. How about a 'finisher' effect when the bad guy gets K.O.d or a random effect every 10 hits or so?
I remember when Star Wars was cool...a long, long time ago...
[quote=Lin Chiao Feng]Fireheart wrote:
I remember 'before video games', too. My objection to this is the idea of 'visual spam'. Because I know that this isn't going to be *Biff!* *BAM!* *Pow!* at some dramatic moment in a fight.
It's going to be more like *Biff!* *BAM!* *Pow!* *Biff!* *BAM!* *Pow!* *Biff!* *BAM!* *Pow!* *Biff!* *BAM!* *Pow!* *Biff!* *BAM!* *Pow!* *Biff!* *BAM!* *Pow!* *Biff!* *BAM!* *Pow!* *Biff!* *BAM!* *Pow!* *Biff!* *BAM!* *Pow!* *Biff!* *BAM!* *Pow!* *Biff!* *BAM!* *Pow!* *Biff!* *BAM!* *Pow!* *Biff!* *BAM!* *Pow!* *Biff!* *BAM!* *Pow!* *Biff!* *BAM!* *Pow!* *Biff!* *BAM!* *Pow!* *Biff!* *BAM!* *Pow!* *Biff!* *BAM!* *Pow!* *Biff!* *BAM!* *Pow!* *Biff!* *BAM!* *Pow!* *Biff!* *BAM!* *Pow!* *Biff!* *BAM!* *Pow!* *Biff!* *BAM!* *Pow!* *Biff!* *BAM!* *Pow!* *Biff!* *BAM!* *Pow!* *Biff!* *BAM!* *Pow!* *Biff!* *BAM!* *Pow!* *Biff!* *BAM!* *Pow!* *Biff!* *BAM!* *Pow!* *Biff!* *BAM!* *Pow!* *Biff!* *BAM!* *Pow!* *FREEM!*
All... Day... Long.
I swear, I will STOP HITTING Bad-Guys just to give my eyes a rest.
Be Well!
Fireheart
Hmm... maybe to cut it back, but still have something: critical hits only?[/quote
Again, criticals only - obviously the effect at every turn would be terribly annoying ;)
Just remember - CoT is in the spirit of CoH, it is not CoH!
One man's campy is another man's flavor - the point is the game has to be appealing to many - and differentiate itself in flavor from every other MMO on the market. No one wan't "lol comics" I know of, the effects are actually still very common in comics today (and will be in the future).
Just remember - CoT is in the spirit of CoH, it is not CoH!
I thought the idea was that it would be optional. If so, there's no need to convince me (or anyone) about the campiness, since I won't see it.
Well, right... comics still don't actually produce the sound of the combat, like the game will, so they don't have much choice. Then again, the 60's Batman TV series still used them, even though that show had sound. They weren't used in The Avengers movie, though... maybe they can add that as an extra someday (an option which I also won't turn on, for the same reason :) ).
Global: @Second Chances
SG: Fusion Force
"And it's not what I wanted
Oh no, it's not what I planned
See it's not where I thought I'd be
It's just where I am"
Well - cinema "comics" are a different beast from either printed form or even games. Games kind of straddle the line in certain areas, but point taken. My original thought was that it _is_ a distinctive element of the genre that adds flavor if used sparingly. I am (relatively) older, and I guess not as into the terribly low-key dark, nihilistic, angst and emo form that popular comics today embraces. I still believe that there are some good guys in the world, not perfect, but trying hard to make things right instead of throwing in the towel and declaring it's all a grey mess so why bother. As a big fan of the Freedom Force games, which still to me hit the best notes on a comic-book based game, I guess I am biased towards a lighter view.
Just remember - CoT is in the spirit of CoH, it is not CoH!
Exactly! The whole "lol comics" is what made for terrible superhero movies! When they're taken much more seriously (this doesn't mean no humor) you get a better product, even if a majority of people don't care for the movie.
I've leveled past 50 in life, myself, and while I have read post-Silver Age comics, my comics sensibility is definitely Silver Age... so we are probably not that different in that regard. From my perspective Freedom Force was over the top, but I think it worked fine for the goals I thought that game had.
Since perception is so subjective (and accurate understanding of our own motivations is not a thing humans are so good at), I dunno that there is a point in my trying to figure out what the distinction is for me, but I can try. I think it is like Warner Bros. (Looney Tunes) cartoons (Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, et. al.) are for me. The cartoons up through the 60s feel to me like they were making Looney Tunes cartoons. Ones that came later don't feel the same to me... they feel more like they are making references to the earlier cartoons... they were making new stories (unlike, ironically, many of the earlier ones that recycled stories :) ), but kept pausing to look back with a wink-wink at the earlier ones, which I found distracting... I wanted more Looney Toons cartoons.
Freedom Force felt to me like it was intended to be a celebration of the comic book genre it presented, rather than a straight attempt to make a superhero computer game. So, when they had heavily-overacted voice acting ("I AM MEN-TORRRR!"), I felt that was in keeping with a game that was riffing off the bombastic elements of the comic book medium. CoH felt a lot more like a clean attempt to just do superheroes in the computer games medium. It had a silver-age sensibility but didn't seem to be just riffing off of the comics of that time. CO, on the other hand, felt to me like there was too much referencing and not enough being... even the basic visual presentation, with its cel-shading feel, was a reference to the look of a comic book.
I am hoping CoT will chart a course more along the lines of CoX. I am not looking for dark and brooding since I am a silver age guy, but if they do silver age, I want the genre to be presented for realz... like it was during the silver age. If they want to add optional stuff that is more of a riff off of the visuals of the comic book medium itself, it would be wasted on me, but if they think it will bring in more customers, more power to them.
Global: @Second Chances
SG: Fusion Force
"And it's not what I wanted
Oh no, it's not what I planned
See it's not where I thought I'd be
It's just where I am"
Yeah, when I say I want it taken "seriously", I am afraid it sounds like I mean they can't have humor or light-hearted stories or whatnot. It is more about presenting the genre seriously, not about the stories being all like Penance in that Squirrel Girl story where he does "DEEP things", like banging his head against wall repeatedly. :)
Global: @Second Chances
SG: Fusion Force
"And it's not what I wanted
Oh no, it's not what I planned
See it's not where I thought I'd be
It's just where I am"
I knew what you meant :)
I think it's that a majority of people want Avengers and not Batman & Robin.
Well a lot of that probably had to do with the terrible acting and script.
You do mean that movie that is the laughing stock of the Batman movie franchise right? Although I don't think batman originally was ever supposed to be cheesy in the first place. But once the show hit in the 60s made for 60s TV where Elvis hip swing was still a moderate big deal and racy material for tv, of course it got made cheesy. The problem is that then people assumed that is how batman/robin was supposed to be which didn't age very well, even with decent actors then. Then the new movie Batman and Robin came about and, gah! WTF? Cheesy, and bad acting and what worse, they tried too hard to put on a thin veil to make it look "Dark and serious". It just made it come off as a joke that I thought was going to ruin Clooney's career and thought O'Donnell was done for good. Luckily Clooney rebounded.
A lot of super hero movies try too hard to be serious and instead coming off as serious it comes off as simple gloomy annoying Twilight Emo like stuff. Which is worse than cheese. Because everyone see they the biggest joke besides the one taking themselves tooooo seriously and trying toooooo hard to be serious.
Watchmen was pretty good with the reality of how super hero would be in a decently bleak setting. Many other try to say realism and seriousness but have all the absurdness and about as realistic as an 1980s Arnold S. action movie. Although they sale very well.
But the Incredibles, cartoonish, funny, well written, had it's clownish parts, had it's parts that were bit more serious but overall, it was one of those funny cheesy super hero animations and it worked well. Many can do it, if they do it well and stop basically biting off 1960s cheese, they may find some success. Comedy or stuff to not be taken too serious is harder to write than explosions and throw super heroes in there and crack skulls.
Ahhh...
http://www.dafont.com/sound-fx.font
Well, if I had my druthers and the engine could support it:
1. Damage FX choices:
[list]
[*]nothing at all
[*]toggle on/off floaty numbers
[*]toggle on/off mechanical descriptors such as 'dodged' or 'critical strike'
[*]toggle on/off animated 'bangs', i.e., the little flashes of light or 'bang marks'
[*]toggle on/off comic 'pows' and 'biffs'
[*]toggle on/off seeing other players damage FX
[*]for FX that can be seen, to be able to adjust the FX's transparency (alpha channel)
[*]choose between seeing the FX just for your target or for all hostiles on the screen[/list]
2. Attack animation FX choices:
[list][*]make a full and simplified version of each attack FX (so, e.g., an electrical blast that would light up a room v. a few flying sparks)
[*]choose between seeing full, simplified, or no attack FX for oneself or for teammates or for hostiles
[*]able to adjust the transparency of attack FXs[/list]
Former Online Community Manager & Forum Moderator
[img]http://missingworldsmedia.com/images/favicon.ico[/img]
Can the engine support it?
If people won't pay enough to finance its creation, it is not worth creating.
/Segev
Everything on that list involving the player should just be client-side graphics, so it depends on the video card.
However, if you want to see damage done by or to third parties, that increases the network load and server traffic a lot more, so "theoretically yes, but practically probably not."
[i]Has anyone seen my mind? It was right here...[/i]