While previewing the new Mission Architect system soon to be added to City of Heroes in Issue 14, I got the chance to sit and chat over sandwiches with Joe Morrissey, Lead Mission Designer for CoH. I would be lying if I said I wasn't excited about the idea of user-generated content in an MMO, and so I contacted him after the event and asked a few questions.
If you're as intrigued as I am about Mission Architect but haven't played City of Heroes yet, don't worry. In April NCSoft is releasing a new boxed edition of the game that includes the new mission creation system, dubbed City of Heroes: Architect Edition. If you're the kind of person who loves to write your own stories and have others play through them, this is one game you definitely should pick up.
Hit the jump for my interview with Mr. Mission Architect himself.
What stands out as the most powerful tool in the Mission Architect?
Beyond the feature of creating your own missions, the most powerful tool would have to be the enemy group creator. It encompasses the ability to create each enemy, selecting a unique look, a wide array of powers, their fighting style and rank as well as a personal description. Adding to that, players can then place each enemy into a new enemy group. The group can be made up of all custom made enemies as well as our existing enemies.
How much did community feedback influence the development of the Mission Architect system?
While the initial idea came about as an internal development feature, once we announced it, our fans were more than willing to suggest what this feature needed. The main feature requested was the ability to customize enemies. People want their own personal nemesis in their missions and they want to share that with other players. You can do that in Mission Architect.
As the library of arcs grows, what challenges will the development team face with game performance issues (read lag)?
The creating arcs and browsing arcs systems are able to handle any slow downs we might encounter. We break the information up into manageable page sizes so there isn’t too much information on the screen at any given moment. We also cap the overall size of the arcs players can publish. Each of these elements should control any lag issues that might come down the pipe.
Do you anticipate having any of the highest quality arcs folded into the core game content in the future?
This question has been asked a lot. The short answer is ‘it’s possible.’ I’ve personally met players out there that know enough about the story and the game that you would think they were the ones who came up with it. I’m excited to see what they create and how well the rest of the players respond to it.
How do you see this sort of system changing the way you develop content for the game looking forward?
Now that we’ve put the ability to essentially do my job in the hands of the player, I and the rest of the team, have to work all that much harder to deliver high quality content in each issue. The level of expectation from our new releases are going to be higher than ever before, players are going to want to see us create content that they can’t do in Architect.
Are there any plans for user-created zones?
We’re already looking at ways we can expand this system. I’ve got a secret list of possible features and improvements we could do if time, money and desire all go our way.
