from : http://www.massively.com/2008/08/09/alleged-ncsoft-survey-may-lay-out-spectacula
r-new-cox-direction/

Alleged NCsoft survey may lay out spectacular new CoX direction

by Adrian Bott Aug 9th 2008 at 8:30AM

Filed under: Super-hero, City of Heroes, City of Villains, Expansions,
Patches, Rumors

Please note that the following article concerns information that is as
yet unconfirmed by any official source, but we feel it is sufficiently
well substantiated to report.

UPDATE: Lighthouse has now commented. 'I want to reiterate what
Niviene said here and remind that this is purely market research.'

The news broke last night on the City of Heroes forums that a company
had been doing a survey for NCsoft which related to potential future
content. The list of what was mentioned looks, as one player said,
like a wish-list compiled of all the various CoX player requests over
the years. For example, 'The Going Rogue system is a new game dynamic
for City of Heroes and City of Villains that allows players to alter
the morality of their characters, eventually opening up the
opportunity to turn their Hero into a Villain or vice versa.'

There's a lot more, which we'll reproduce verbatim after the break.
Adding to the post's feel of authenticity is what appears to be a
screenshot of the new mission creator.

It's the kind of information that almost looks too good to be true.
Poster Beef Cake - such a stalwart of the game that he has guest-
starred in the City of Heroes comic, asking Positron for a badge in
exchange for Salvage - states that Alex 'Lighthouse' Von Minden has
confirmed it in a private message. Redname Niviene, commenting on the
relevant thread, has so far only confirmed that 'Our marketing
department has been working on survey research for City of Heroes. The
goal is to get valuable player input. We are "testing" multiple ideas
and features, and this research will help guide our development
efforts.'

Here is the survey's content, as summarized by poster Hawkeyed, who
brought it to the boards' attention:

City of Heroes and City of Villains let players create unique
characters and set forth as virtuous Heroes or evil Villains in a MMO
comic book inspired universe. This expansion to the City of Heroes/
Villains universe blurs the line between good and evil, between hero
and villain. The Going Rogue system is a new game dynamic for City of
Heroes and City of Villains that allows players to alter the morality
of their characters, eventually opening up the opportunity to turn
their Hero into a Villain or vice versa.

By visiting different contacts in the game, players can start the
process of "moving their moral compass" towards being a hero or a
villain. Making this choice dramatically alters the gameplay for the
player, as they will now be able to bring an Archetype (class) that
was previously only available to players of City of Heroes into City
of Villains, and vice versa. Once a character has switched sides, they
can continue down the path they have chosen, or use the opportunity to
subvert their new allies through a series of espionage-style missions.

In addition to this new game altering dynamic, new neutral starting
zones allow new players to select their Archetype (class) first, and
then let their actions determine their hero, villain or rogue
identities. At the high levels, rewards for these moral choices will
be found in new PVP, PVE and Co-op zones. Accomplishments will lead to
rewards that will significantly distinguish level 50 characters from
one another.One such reward is the Universal Enhancement Slots. Ten
Universal Enhancement Slots are available to be earned in the
expansion, and each one has the potential of adding significant power
to the character, essentially bringing them to a hypothetical "Level
60" once they have earned all ten slots.

For existing City of Heroes and City of Villains players who have
previously reached the level cap of 50, the Expansion will take them
into outer space where they can now find challenges that test their
powers and skills to the max. On an alien space station that
mysteriously appears over Earth, Heroes and Villains will race to
unlock the secrets of the place and be the first to reap the rewards
that are only available to the best of the best.

A brand new Spy Archetype (class), power sets and player costume
options will lead to a massive amount of new character and gameplay
options. And a significantly enhanced character creator system will
now allow characters to customize the effects (looks and colors) of
their super powered attacks and defenses.

Here is some other things that were mentioned in the survey...

1.) New high level Space Station Zones (PVE, PVP, & Co-op)
2.) Characters that do not wish to change sides are rewarded by
becoming exemplary heroes or villains, and earning rewards not
available any other way
3.) Heroes and villains who go to the other side can also act as
Double-Agents
4.) Character Creator 2.0 includes Powers Customization, allowing
players to customize not only the character, but also the actual look
of its powers
5.) Players undertake missions that define their character's morality
and steer them in a more heroic or villainous direction
6.) By switching sides (going from good to bad or bad to good),
players can access content "on the other side" (heroes can experience
villain zones and content, and villains can experience hero zones and
content)
7.) Completely new low-level player experience/zones for new
characters in which new characters do not begin a hero or villain,
rather become one or the other through early gameplay
8.) New Spy Archetype, Power Sets & Costumes
9.) Universal Enhancement Slots - at level 50, these enhance powers to
the character, essentially bringing them to a hypothetical "Level 60"
once they have earned all ten slots

Here are some of the suggested names you had to choose from for the
new content...

Rogues or Vigilantes
Rogues or Spies
Spies or Vigilantes
Moral Compass or Morality Meter
Shades of Gray or Crossing Over
Allegiance or Alliance

Now this part of the survey offered information about the new Player
Based Mission Content....

This is a new module for City of Heroes, fictionally presented as a
training exercise for Heroes and Villains, that allows players to
build their own Missions and Story Arcs and share them with others in
the game. Using an intuitive interface similar to the game's detailed
Character Creator, players can create missions by selecting options
like size and type of map/environment, mission objectives and
encounter types, and difficulty level of each encounter. Additionally,
players can write all mission story fiction and character dialogue.

Players can create their own missions and they can play missions that
have been created by other players. Once you have finalized and
"published" your missions, they are accessible by all players across
all servers. All players can rate player created missions and a
Mission Browser lets players find available missions and story arcs
through a variety of tabs, sorts and filters in an auction house type
environment.

As missions are played and more people positively rate them, the
creator gains rewards and access to unlockable content for his/her
missions. Rewards will also be given to players of the missions.
Players will gain rewards such as badges and even XP for playing user
created missions and StoryArcs.

Here is a list of the feature from the player based mission creator...

1.) Write your own dialog for all aspects of the mission.
2.) Build Missions and Story Arcs using a Character Creator-like
interface
3.) Players can build powers for some NPCs by selecting from a group
of primary and secondary power pools and attaching them to the NPCs
4.)Players can build a boss (and other NPCs) to place within their
mission by creating its looks in the Character Creator and assigning
it the powers of an existing NPC (non playable character)
5.) Select a variety of components for the overall mission including
Level Range, Map, Length, Villain Group, Pacing, Time to Complete,
Goals/type of mission, etc.
6.) Customize Encounters to your preference (Place in End Room, Select
Villain Group, Name Boss, Select Critter Type, Select Hostage NPC
Critter, etc.)
7.) Using an in-game auction house type interface, other players can
find user created StoryArcs across all shards
8.) Creators can include their own character as a contact within the
mission(s)
9.) Creators don't have access to high level content (environments,
NPCs, etc.) until their own characters have encountered/defeated them
in the main game.
10.) Using an out-of-game web interface, other players can find user
created StoryArcs across all shards
11.) Rewarding creators of the most popular content with exclusive
unlockable content such as signature heroes and villains or unique
maps
12.) A rating system that allows players to rate missions or flag them
for inappropriate content, allowing the developer to remove bad
content and potentially ban players
13.) Players can enter the mission maps to adjust placement of the NPC
spawns from their pre-selected positions

What are we to make of all this? Our reaction here at Massively is
that it is genuine, if only because Beef Cake's integrity is not in
doubt. The question is how much of this content will be coming to the
game, and how much is being speculated upon with an eye to possible
future release. It is, after all, a survey.

That said, the nature of what is mentioned here ties in perfectly with
the sense of 'big revelations just around the corner' that NCsoft have
been giving off lately. The only point in its disfavor is the mention
of customizing the look of your powers, which has previously been
discarded several times as an enormous amount of work, while not
technically impossible to achieve.