Cryptic’s Matt Miller talks about the forthcoming expansion of CoV and CoH
By Michael Lafferty

“There will be plenty of surprises and new elements that will take this game’s PvP action to another level”

The gauntlet was thrown down back on October 31, 2005, when City of Villains launched. The stand-alone title could also partner with NCsoft/Cryptic Studio’s high-flying massively multiplayer online title City of Heroes as the other side of the coin. We all knew it was coming – head-to-head competition between the heroes of CoH and the villains of CoV.

Now is the time to pick up that proverbial gauntlet and pummel your opponents with it. There were some tangles before, but nothing like the scale that is coming with the latest expansion to CoV and CoH, Issue 7: Destiny Manifest (a free expansion for current subscribers). It begins with a zone in which higher-level heroes and villains will duke it out for control.

But that’s not all. Want to know more? So did we. So GameZone asked Matt Miller, systems designer at Cryptic Studios, for the lowdown on this new expansion.

Question: When you set down to evolve an established MMO, is this part of an overall design plan, or are you reacting to the way the players are evolving within the game itself?

Matt: “The whole process is part of one and part of the other. When you release a game, there were many things that had to be cut in order to get the game out. Once the MMO is out and becomes successful you want to get those ideas back into the game, but of course the end-user never knew of those ideas in the first place and they might see a different direction for the game. You can either implement an unused idea that the players might find really cool, or you can look to the player-base as to the direction for the game to evolve. A good designer will take a mixture of both.”

Q: What constitutes a new quest that makes it into the game? How do you create a quest that bears the elements of adventure and excitement, is differentiated from all the other quests the game already sports, and - at the same time - advances the storyline? 

Matt: “We like to incorporate good characters in the missions. Giving the characters a unique voice helps a lot, as well as our ‘custom mission elements’ where we do things that the player doesn’t see regularly, like giving them allied NPCs that follow them around and attack things of their own volition, or having to protect an objective from being destroyed. At the same time we look to advance the storyline through Clues that the character receives during missions. Reading clues you find goes a long way in understanding the motivations behind the characters involved in the missions.”

Q: Tell us how the environment in Recluse's Victory will change depending on who is in control? Are there set environmental elements or will the environment take on the tone of the controlling ruling party?

Matt: “The high-level PvP zone, Recluse’s Victory, will be very dynamic and will reflect which side has control over the zone. This is a very exciting approach to PvP for this game and our players will get a big kick out of it. There will be plenty of surprises and new elements that will take this game’s PvP action to another level.”

Q: How have you been able to attain a sense of balance in the PvP aspect of the world when the CoH side has been out for well over a year and thus the characters are better established?

Matt: “We use our Exemplar and Sidekick systems to automatically level the playing field to a specific combat level. If you were over the level picked, you lose access to powers you gained after that level, and your enhancements are reduced in effectiveness. If you were under the level, we bring your To Hit and Damage up to be equivalent to the level of the zone.”

Q: What are the Mayhem Missions?

Matt: “Mayhem Missions are exactly like they sound. You are given a task where you can enter an instanced part of Paragon City. The ultimate goal is to rob a well defended bank, but nearly everything in the zone is destructible. If you want you can simply cause mayhem by destroying hundreds of objects including fire hydrants and cars while fighting off the Paragon Police Department. Causing mayhem unlocks additional rewards. This turns players’ ability to be bad up a few notches.”

Q: With the characters now being able to advance from level 40-50, how will the skills evolve?

Matt: “We are introducing the Patron powersets, which are the City of Villains equivalent of the Prestige Powers from CoH. These powersets are not based on any one special effect, but upon the patrons of Arachnos themselves, Captain Mako, Black Scorpion, Sirocco, and Ghost Widow. This way advanced players become part of a ‘crime family’ because they have proven they are truly villainous.”

Q: Are you bringing new costumes options to play in the game? Will the lairs evolve with the increased player levels?

Matt: “In addition to some really cool new costume pieces coming with the free expansion, we will be introducing costume pieces as rewards more and more often. Bases are always being looked at, and with the increased level will of course come increased functionality.”

Q: Have there been any lessons gleaned from the release of CoV and heading into the PvP, or creating story series or mission series for the game?

Matt: “Everyday we learn something new. We recently lowered Archvillains (Heroes in CoV) to be ‘Elite Bosses’ if you were solo, or on a very small team. This made many of the ‘gating’ missions doable, but since they were Elite Bosses, they were no cakewalks. With PvP we are constantly looking at how players adjust to the ‘metagame’ of which powersets trump which.”

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