City of Heroes Going Rogue Expansion

[gothess]

Did anyone else get an email from NCSoft about this? I tried looking for info on their site and the links they provided weren't working.

???

[Steiner]

http://www.onelastcontinue.com/7255/paragon-city-goes-rogue-in-newly-announced-expansion/

Don't be surprised if this isn't true... might wanna verify it via the official forums.

[Catharctic]

Confirmed by Castle in this thread.

It's not a joke. I can't say more about it now, though. Stay tuned for more info!

[gothess]

Well, some time ago I received an invite for a survey for COH where they asked questions directly relating to this. This was before the Architect issue. Some of the questions asked what the Architect issue should be named and what our opinions about heroes/ villains being able to switch sides.

I wonder how this will play out. I'm interested in knowing if it's a stand-alone or if it will be like COV, where you don't need a second account and can play with your current global friends...

I checked the forums but didn't see anything about it.  :-\

[gothess]

Confirmed by Castle in this thread.

Thanks! I'm off to read that thread then! Heehee.  :D

[eabrace]

Official site (complete with trailer): http://www.cityofheroes.com/goingrogue/

[Catharctic]

Some teases I'm seeing:

- New Engine - Improved Architecture on Statesman's viewing screen & Epic-looking armor
- Power Customization - The fireball changing color
- Dual Pistols - The guy only pulls one, but he has holsters on both sides

[eabrace]

- Dual Pistols - The guy only pulls one, but he has holsters on both sides

The first thing I expected to see after watching the trailer was a flood of new posts on the boards saying "OMG!  Pistols!"

[Steiner]

Some teases I'm seeing:

- New Engine - Improved Architecture on Statesman's viewing screen & Epic-looking armor
- Power Customization - The fireball changing color
- Dual Pistols - The guy only pulls one, but he has holsters on both sides

Yea, I'm seeing new powersets for sure, but the fireball changing color... I think that's just a metaphor for her changing from red to blue, respectively CoV -> CoH. I seriously doubt there going to let us change the color of elemental powers... green fire won't make any sense, regardless of how cool it looks.

I definitely see a (possible) huge engine overhaul, I mean the engine has some major tweaks in the release of COV, so I wouldn't be too surprised if this release brings out a whole new reason to love CoH on graphics alone.

Not to mention I REALLY follow all the storylines in game and seeing them bring Preatorians back into the mix is just exciting. (Tyrant at the end of the trailer)

[SuckerPunch]

Why wouldn't green fire make sense?  You do realize flames can be any number of colors, naturally, right?

[Catharctic]

If they upgrade the engine, we're getting power customization. That's always been the excuse.

IMO, it doesn't have to look like fire for it to be classified Fire Damage.

[Steiner]

Why wouldn't green fire make sense?  You do realize flames can be any number of colors, naturally, right?

Wouldn't make sense because both Hero side heals and Rad already have a shade of green... it wouldn't make sense to the game, not to the natural ability of it.

If they upgrade the engine, we're getting power customization. That's always been the excuse.

I can see your point and that would be quite awesome if it were to happen. Though they've promised boatloads and have yet to deliver so I've trained myself not to get my hopes up until I can visually see the content.

I can only hope for the best from the release... heh maybe they'll finally add some custom UI support too while they're at it.

[Catwhoorg]

Here was me looking at that at thinking it was a ball of electricty.

Red/blue electricty is already there and makes an obvious metaphor for the side switching.

Either way, I'm very excited

[eabrace]

I want those red Force Field bubbles we had for all of about a week back in CoV beta.  :)

[Catharctic]

The Press Release:

SEATTLE, Washington - May 12, 2009 - NCsoft®, the world's premier publisher and developer of massively multiplayer online games (MMOs), and Paragon Studios™, the developer of City of Heroes®, today announced the development of City of Heroes Going Rogue™, the first major expansion for the City of Heroes franchise since the launch of City of Villains® in 2005. As the name implies, Going Rogue will blur the line between heroes and villains in the first and longest-running super-powered comic book MMO game.

In the Going Rogue expansion, hero and villain characters will become immersed in the new parallel universe known as Praetoria, which is governed by Tyrant™, the evil incarnation of the game's main protagonist, Statesman™. As gamers search for Tyrant and the rest of his Praetorian guard, implacable foes and fierce resistance will arise to face them from all sides, causing heroes and villains alike to question their loyalties.

City of Heroes Going Rogue will introduce a new alignment system that helps players explore the shades of gray that lie between good and evil. For the first time, hero characters can become villains and vice versa, enabling hero archetypes to cross over to the Rogue Isles™ and villain archetypes to experience Paragon City™. Clearly marked missions, in addition to behaviors and decisions made by the player, will move a hero's or villain's moral compass, which could eventually change the hero's or villain's alignment. Going Rogue will also introduce two primary new fictional characters representative of this alignment shift in the game's lore: Maelstrom, a pistol-wielding hero gone rogue, and Desdemona, a demon-summoning villain who has been redeemed.

"City of Heroes has brought a fresh new perspective to the MMO stage with its foray into the super-powered hero comic book genre, and we are excited to present gamers with even more innovative content in Going Rogue," said Brian Clayton, general manager and executive producer at Paragon Studios. "For years, players could choose between playing as a hero or a villain. Now we will present a third, malleable path where players can be affected by the results of their actions, enabling them to further develop, unveil new perspectives, and overcome new challenges."

NCsoft will share more details on Going Rogue in the coming months. The game is currently in development by NCsoft's Paragon Studios, the City of Heroes development team that most recently launched the ground-breaking Mission Architect system. The launch of Mission Architect sets a significant milestone for City of Heroes as the first MMO to allow players to create user-generated content. City of Heroes has and continues to set new standards among its MMO peers and player community with its engaging and approachable comic book-inspired universe theme and consistent delivery of concepts that break the standard MMO mold.

For more information about City of Heroes, go to http://www.cityofheroes.com. For more information about Paragon Studios, go to http://paragonstudios.com. For more news about NCsoft, go to http://us.ncsoft.com/en/news or http://us.ncsoft.com/en/news/press-releases.

[Catharctic]

I think it's important to note that Maelstrom is a hero gone rogue. That would most likely make him a Blaster. Dual Pistols for Blasters!!!

[Voltaic Shock]

This might actually make me come back to the game.

Would be great if I could get all the badges on one character - :P

I want my electric blaster to be become the electric brute - :)

[Steiner]

Come on back now, ya herrrr?

[Catharctic]

Really short interview, but it looks like they aren't afraid to talk about it:

From MMORPG

The Content:

Short Going Rogue Interview

After the announcement that Paragon Studios was working on a new expansion for City of Heroes, franchise Senior Lead Designer Matt Miller took the time to answer a few questions from MMORPG.com. advertisement Paragon Studios, the recently christened NCsoft subsidiary responsible for the development of the first ever Superhero MMO City of Heroes announced today that they are working on the game's second expansion (the first having been City of Villains in 2005).

The expansion, according to the announcement press release, will allow, "hero and villain characters will become immersed in the new parallel universe known as Praetoria, which is governed by Tyrant™, the evil incarnation of the game's main protagonist, Statesman™. As gamers search for Tyrant and the rest of his Praetorian guard, implacable foes and fierce resistance will arise to face them from all sides, causing heroes and villains alike to question their loyalties." This move brings moral shades of grey into the game for the first time.

While the expansion is still in its early stages, meaning that Paragon Studios is still pretty hush-hush about the details of the project, Senior Lead Designer Matt Miller took the time to answer a couple of questions (some more cryptically than others) from MMORPG.com:

MMORPG.com: Going Rogue takes place in an alternate universe. Is this move an attempt to capture the popularity of the alternate universe storylines present in some of the major comic book company lines?

Matt Miller: We've had alternate universes in CoH since even before Issue 1, like the Rikti Homeworld, the Hydra dimension, and of course the Shadow Shard. They are definitely a staple of the genre and we'd be remiss to ignore them.

MMORPG.com: Will what your character does in the parallel universe affect the character in the "real" universe, or are the two separate?

Matt Miller: The two universes are separate, but joined. What your character does in one only truly affects that one, but that can have repercussions across both worlds.

MMORPG.com: Will players be able to use the Mission Architect system to create Praetoria missions?

Matt Miller: Yes, the Mission Architect is a holographic simulator, so players can use it to make whatever type of missions they want. I expect some players will start making up their own stories about the world of Praetoria via Mission Architect right away, based on the (admittedly) very little information we've released at this time. They will have to wait for the release of the expansion to get access to any new maps, NPCs or villain groups we've included, however.

MMORPG.com: Will Going Rogue introduce new missions to the game, or simply allow hero characters to experience villain content and vice-versa?

Matt Miller: Lots of new missions. Lots. It's not just "make your Mastermind into a Hero" and call it a day. What is the path your Mastermind takes? What is the trigger that got them to consider a line between good and evil? What made them cross that line?

[Steiner]

Exciting, however, does not sound like a straight up Villain to Hero (or vice-versa) transition.

It seems to be a fate system that's only effected in the Praetorian world, which will probably be like a whole 'nother game. I'm looking forward to it regardless of how they spin it. lol