State of the game July 20

Executive Producer Shannon Posniewski checks in with July's State of the Game.
Hello Champions!
School's out and summer is upon us (in the northern hemisphere)! I'm just recently back from a vacation to the Adirondacks, where I was eaten by black flies, the temperature was high, and the internet non-existent. But while I've been basking in DEET, the team has been hard at work.

 

Summer Update

It's been HOT here at Cryptic HQ, so we've been hiding in the air conditioning and working on the Summer Update. We hope to have our first candidate up on PTS on Friday or early next week! We're aiming for going live on August 17, but that depends on how it looks on PTS and what you think.
Here's what's coming in the Summer Update:

• Supergroup Improvements
  • We've added a number of new features to Supergroups. At the same time, we did a user interface overhaul and made it easier and more straightforward to use.
  • Supergroups can now advertise for recruits by making their supergroup visible in the new supergroup search window. You can specify how casual your group is, what kinds of things you like to do, point to your website and so on. We now keep a historical log of key events in the supergroup such as when people join, change ranks and level up.
  • We've added an Event system, which lets you create and schedule events for members to attend. You can sign up for the event, decline it and leave notes about it.

Here's a couple screenshots to show you where we're going:

   

• Pet Powers
  • We're giving pet powers a huge and complete overhaul in this update. We are greatly changing the way they operate.
  • Previously, players controlled pets through special multi-mode powers and clever pet AI. Now players will be more explicit with their pets. An expanded user interface will let you control how they operate (e.g. going into special modes) more directly.
  • We have made pets stronger overall. They have more powers and they do more damage. However, they now need energy to do their work. They don't have their own energy builders like players; you will need to make sure that you keep your pets juiced up.
  • We're very excited about these changes and think they make pets a whole lot more fun to play, but we want to know what you think. When these changes get to PTS, try them out and let us know. Balseraph will also write up a big post about all the changes when we get it out there.

• Ren Center Update
  • WWe gave Ren Center a facelift, made it a better space for social activities, and made a place for the tailors to live. We moved the Powerhouse to the side, built a big stage and tailors have moved into a covered area on the other side.

 

• Emotes
  • We've added over 20 new emotes and improved the UI so you can see and use them all easily. There are many more dances, rock/paper/scissors, coin flip and a bunch more.

• CStore 2.0
  • We've rewritten the interface to the store. Previously, you would need to go to the web to get reasonably good pictures and information about the items. We've integrated these pictures into the new store. In addition, we've categorized the items better and made navigation more clear.

• Civilian Mission Fixes
  • In a previous update, we made a bug fix which greatly reduced the number of civilian missions given to players. Many people didn't like this change because they like these instanced missions. In this update, you can now also go out and actively get these missions by rescuing civilians. If you find a civilian being threatened and defeat the critters around him, the citizen will give you a mission (assuming he has a valid one for you).

• Tights and High Heels
  • Men and women will be able to choose from many more Tights options in the costume creator. In addition, we made a few different high-heeled shoes and boots for women.

• Difficulty Slider
  • Our new difficulty slider will "go to 11" (one higher than we have now).

Other Major Changes

• Costume Unlocking
  • When you find an item which unlocks a costume part, it is supposed to unlock for all your characters. We found many that didn't and fixed them.
• Sidekicking in an instance no longer has a distance requirement. As long as your Mentor is on the map, you stay sidekicked.
• Our crack video team went through a bunch of the zone cutscenes and made them look more cinematic and awesome!
• VIPER's pulson gun will do less damage now.

These are just the big ticket items. The patch notes will have the full list of changes and bug fixes. You'll be able to see all of this (and maybe a couple more goodies if we get them done and tested in time) very soon on PTS. Let us know what you think!

The Demonflame

Near the end of September, we are planning on launching the next adventure pack, The Demonflame. Here's the basic back plot, which some of you may remember from the Champions pen and paper game.
Nearly 20 years ago, Luther Black used the full power of the DEMON organization that he'd built to cause the Demonflame Incident. Through vile magic and human sacrifice he created a flaming tower that rose into the sky, and at its peak he tried a horrific ritual to let him pry open the doors between worlds and take on unnatural powers. He was stopped by the combined forces of brave superheroes and, to everyone's surprise, VIPER. No one knows why VIPER lent their aid, but VIPER and DEMON have been fighting each other ever since. Luther Black's plan was foiled, and the tower disappeared.
Now, with his plans deeply shaken and the day of reckoning coming fast, Luther Black has taken a desperate gamble to re-create the Demonflame incident. If he succeeds, he may be able to open a portal to the Qliphothic realm, and attain his apotheosis of evil.
Work with the mystic hero Witchcraft of the Champions and Violette Boudreau of UNTIL's Project Hermes to discover what DEMON and Luther Black are planning in the chaotic realm known as the Qliphothic. Be prepared to face otherworldly horrors in order to stop Luther Black before he gains the power he seeks!
The adventure pack has a new environment (Qliphoth) and a new critter group (the Qliphothic Horrors). It also has a bunch of other cool stuff in it. We've been playtesting it in-house and it's looking really great.

   

And Also ...

There is also some feedback that we're looking into. We're not promising anything (yet), but I wanted you to know we're looking at what you have to say.

• Holds in game don't seem to work correctly. Pressing Z does not seem to help break a hold more quickly. We're investigating this right now.
• Many think that too many critters in game can dispel travel powers. We're looking at ways to make them less irritating while still not letting players kite or ignore them with impunity.
• There have been reports than critters with Defiance are too tough compared to other critters of the same level without Defiance. They are supposed to be more difficult, but we will investigate and see if they are turned up too high.

Keep cool, Heroes!
-poz