Champions Online: Tight Spandex

[Azzaman]

Is anyone else interested in this? I briefly played City of Heroes way back, but never got into it. I love the idea of a Superhero mmo though. Has anyone here got it? What are your first impressions?

Videos look good too (http://www.gametrailers.com/game/champions-online/6284)

[Afrogamer]

Im tempted...

[Gameboffin]

It's quite good. The character customisation is just incredible and much of the fun comes from witnessing in-game what creations other people have come up with.

I've only put a few hours into it, but the ability to switch servers on the fly is really handy - if a quest is bugged, just shop around for an instance where it works. This also makes it really easy for friends to pop in and join each other without much fuss.

I'm still getting used to the crafting side of things (I got a digital copy so haven't got the manual) and the game does support a 360 controller, it's just not integrated very well as yet.

[JubeiSaotome]

So, is it anything like City of Heroes? Which I didn't mesh with at all.

[FX-GTZ]

I only watched the character creation video, it looks pretty damn extensive.

[Watchers]

Trying to decide between this and Aion. THOUGHTS?

[Surgeon.]

Everything I've seen so far seems to indicate awesome character creation followed by boring generic mmo gameplay . . . . pass

[Azzaman]

You know you want to Surgeon, don't resist.

[Slippery]

Resist with me Surgeon, we played enough WoW to not be fooled by shiny character creation.

[McChimp]

Was this getting an X360 release? Can't seem to find any info as far as a release date........or even if it's still being released.

[Azzaman]

Was this getting an X360 release? Can't seem to find any info as far as a release date........or even if it's still being released.

Yeah, but MS are getting antsy about it so It's getting held up.

[McChimp]

Ohhhhh. Might have to go for the PC version........just need to pop some more ram in the rig first, otherwise it'll probably run like a lame dog!

[Azzaman]

Well after a few hours of playtime I have to say I'm quite enjoying the game. To be honest I haven't gotten very far yet, only just got past the tutorial and have started tinkering around with some of my powers.

What I like:

All the cool names aren't taken! I don't know if this is because the games relatively new, but it seems that the way the game is structured allows for you to take whatever name you want for your character.

Combat is very active, You don't just sit back and shoot things if you're a ranged damage dealer or get in close and spam punch for a tank, most of the powers allow you to be moving while using them, it's a refreshing change from WoW.

Character customisation. Well duh, heaps has been said on this already so I won't go into huge detail, but lets just say this is the most awesome thing ever. I wish more mmo's gave this level of individuality. It's not just the look either, all the powers can be tailored to your needs.

Visual style: I like the cell shaded style. It's not too much of a systems hog either, it looks good, but it's not jaw droppingly stunning. Which as an MMO is fine by me.

Instanced play Zones: I see this as a big bonus. When you want to group quest head into a full instance, if you want to solo head into a empty one. I haven't added any friends yet (gonna get some names from the pcpp forums) from what I'm hearing it will show you what instances your friends are in. I'm not certain if the game becomes more open world down the line or not though.

Elements from new MMO's: Particularly the Open World quests from WAR, I liked them in WAR and I like them here.

Support: Cryptic have a pretty good track record of supporting their previous effort City of Heroes, so I'm hopeful that will continue with Champions.

What I don't like:

I'm kind of confused as to what role I could be playing. There aren't any specific classes, so it makes it tough to get an idea of what your role is.

What stats do I pick? This one kind of goes with the above point, I really have no idea what stats I should be looking out for in items/upgrades and such. I guess it's the same with WoW but I just got used to what I should be looking out for. No biggie, I'm sure it'll come in time though.

Longetivity: At this stage I really have nfi what the end-game is like and if it's achievable for me, I spent my entire time in WoW chasing the level cap because of my power gamer friends but never had the time to dedicate to Raids and such.


I'm sure after a few more days of play I'll be able to think of more for both, but for now, back to work ;)

[Stevorooni]

So is this a subscription based thing where you pay by the month? Because if so then not interested

[Azzaman]

I'm hearing Stevo's not interested ;) Yeah, it's $15 per month USD. Frist month is free though.

[Watchers]

I'll probably buy and download tonight.

[Almighty Beanchild]

Okay. This is a little unusual because I have a long, long track record of hating all MMOs. To date I have tried WoW, Everquest 2, Guild Wars, EVE Online, Age of Conan, CoH/CoV and WAR. WAR was the only one that was KIND of fun, but I never stuck with it. BUT I do like Champions Online. Probably not enough to play for more than a month or so, but I am enjoying it for now.

Things I like:

-Combat is kinda fun. This is a new one on me, most of the MMOs I've played don't have a great deal of maneuvering or tactical choice. (EVE being the obvious exception, that game was inaccessible for a myriad of other reasons though). I've been playing mostly solo as the "Gadgeteer" class. I have only got 4 abilities but I've been managing to use them, coupled with the terrain and my flight powers quite diversely. You can choose to "tap" abilities (ie. tap the button) or hold them, which produces a more powerful result but obviously takes longer to do, and every ability I have can be done while moving. Maybe its just the Gadgeteer, but the ability to choose between big bursts of damage, quick but small bursts (each time you hit enemies jerk around and you can interrupt their attacks) as well as various crowd control stuff (particularly useful to hold a melee-focused or short-range enemy in place, fly up out of their range and rain damage down). Additionally, enemies have little comic-book like popups above their head when they are charging big attacks, meaning you can often strafe around and avoid the attack, making for real-time dodging or hold down shift to have a block prepared.

None of this is amazing, of course, any number of comic book character based videogames would be more fun, but the point is that for MMO combat, this is actually pretty engaging. I've only had a few boss fights so far, but they went for 5 minutes or so and were quite intense.

-Public quests: If you've played WAR you know about all of this and don't really need it explained. They're fun
-Thematically the game is nice, the graphics suit and when you get hit with crits and stuff little boxes appear saying "POW" and shit, which is good.
-Not too many fetch quests. I have only had one quest where the goal was "kill these things to find these items" and in that quest, every one of those things had that item, so it wasn't too onerous.
-I am a robotic lion-man with jet boots who summons healing drones and shoots Ice Demons with SONIC LASERS or something. That's probably the big selling point, tbh.

Things I don't like:
-It's still an MMO. I don't like grinding, I don't like crafting, I am lazy about planning my characters skill tree and shit like that. I imagine it'll hold me for maybe a month or two. I get that some people enjoy MMOs but I think I'm just not that kind of guy. This plays like other, similar MMOs with enough twists and new things that I am enjoying it, but those will wear off and at its core, this is the same MMO as most of those I listed.

[Azzaman]

what's the username bean? mines Dynamo@Azzaman69. I think that's right anyway.

[Almighty Beanchild]

what's the username bean? mines Dynamo@Azzaman69. I think that's right anyway.

L3O N9NE@AlmightyBean I believe, but I'll have to check when I am at home.

[Azzaman]

Watchers is going to be getting into this as well, he just needs to sort out his CC details to pay for the sub.

[FX-GTZ]

Maybe the fact its CEL shaded makes it good? Nah couldnt be, people dont play games for gravics. I think you play it for the customisation aspects, Almighty. How many toons have you made since you installed ?

[Watchers]

Watchers is going to be getting into this as well, he just needs to sort out his CC details to pay for the sub.

Yeah, I bought it last night. About 60% through downloading, but I expect to spend roughly 3 hours making a character.

[Azzaman]

Maybe the fact its CEL shaded makes it good? Nah couldnt be, people dont play games for gravics. I think you play it for the customisation aspects, Almighty. How many toons have you made since you installed ?

I've rolled 3 toons, but I have ideas for many, many more. I'm quite taken with my first attempt, though I'm keen to try out other "classes".

[Daniel]

If anyone wants to hook up and form Team Hyper, I have the following toons:

Avenging Disco Godfather
The Electric Wimple
Issues
(+ others I can't remember. I seem to make a new character whenever I have a mildly funny idea)

[Gameboffin]

For a friend invite: Therendralin@Correct Punctuation Man (may or may not need the spaces).

[Azzaman]

I'll be up for that, I should be on tonight for a few hours, We should start working on a witty name for the team.

Is it toon@username or username@toon?

[Gameboffin]

I've got a lifetime sub so yeah, I'll help out whenever I'm online.

[Afrogamer]

Brother got this today, getting very tempted to buy....

[Jickle]

For a friend invite: Therendralin@Correct Punctuation Man (may or may not need the spaces).

If his power is proper punctuation then surely the spaces are neccessary?

...I'll leave you guys to your discussion.

[Almighty Beanchild]

Maybe the fact its CEL shaded makes it good? Nah couldnt be, people dont play games for gravics. I think you play it for the customisation aspects, Almighty. How many toons have you made since you installed ?

Just the one, actually!

[FX-GTZ]

Just the one, actually!
Seriously? If i had that game i would probably have well over 6 in the first week! Im a fan of creating random things, from Gmod, Trackmania obviously, other sandbox games which i cant spring to mind.

[Watchers]

If his power is proper punctuation then surely the spaces are neccessary?

...I'll leave you guys to your discussion.

How ironic.

[Afrogamer]

Ok got a nub question, if my brother already has a copy of this game installed and if i buy it off steam to get a key will i be able to play without downloading it?

[Azzaman]

Ok got a nub question, if my brother already has a copy of this game installed and if i buy it off steam to get a key will i be able to play without downloading it?

yeah, just make a backup of the game files in steam and use them for your computer. Of course the patcher is separate to the steam files though so you will still need to grab the patches.

[Watchers]

Lustface is good to go!

http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd229/watcherseye1/lustface.jpg


The craziest, evil, sorceror skank on the planet.

[Azzaman]

Lustface is good to go!

http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd229/watcherseye1/lustface.jpg


The craziest, evil, sorceror skank on the planet.

Partner of pimpman?
http://img75.imageshack.us/img75/499/pimpman.jpg

[Blue]

Wow.

This game will be full of tacky shit.

[Watchers]

Partner of pimpman?
http://img75.imageshack.us/img75/499/pimpman.jpg

Get your own colour scheme!

[Surgeon.]

After listening to the Akimbo podcast, I'm really glad Watchers didn't talk me into getting this.

[Watchers]

I would rather pay money for this than have to listen to an Akimbo podcast.

[Azzaman]

btw daniel, what's your handle? i'm having trouble shooting you a friend invite without it ;)

[Watchers]

I've got a lifetime sub so yeah, I'll help out whenever I'm online.

Which is never, apparently :rolleyes:

[Gameboffin]

Ha! Not true. I was in most arvos this week and a couple of hours yesterday. Must be the WA time difference - I always seem to be on when people are either having dinner or asleep. :P

[REQUIEM]

I have left WOW so a new addiction may be needed. Is the community there as yet?

Edit: what are the min requirements.

[Watchers]

Ha! Not true. I was in most arvos this week and a couple of hours yesterday. Must be the WA time difference - I always seem to be on when people are either having dinner or asleep. :P

Well, you still haven't accepted my friend invite, tool. :D

Also, WA is, what, 4 hours behind? Myself and Azz are generally on around 8pm EST, for an hour or two most weeknights.

[Gameboffin]

I never got the invite in game. I'll check the website. And we're two hours behind. I am kinda all over the place with when I'm on. If I don't get called into work, I'll be on during the day, otherwise I jump in after work for a couple of hours (4pm - 6pm my time).

[Watchers]

I never got the invite in game. I'll check the website. And we're two hours behind. I am kinda all over the place with when I'm on. If I don't get called into work, I'll be on during the day, otherwise I jump in after work for a couple of hours (4pm - 6pm my time).

Turns out I...uh...never sent it :o

I just sent one off before though, to make amends!

[Cubby]

So this is going free in a few days... anyone play?

[9warbane]

I will be.

Would of been nice if they made it f2p before my holidays are over. :(

[Cubby]

25th, but I'm guessing that'll be US time.

[Cubby]

Anyone know if it's possible to have the F2P in Steam?

I have the free trial from Steam, but it did a 1.5gb update this morning, which I figured would be the f2p. Though it still says demo on the icon, and the non trial version takes you to the official site.