CoH Community Quiz: Get Us Your Questions For Jack Emmert!

Jack Emmert is the Creative Director of Cryptic Studios and the second guest in our City of Heroes Community Quiz. This roughly monthly event gives the CoH community the chance to pose questions of key Cryptic staff. Find out a bit about Jack, then leave your questions in the comment thread.

So just who is Jack Emmert? Find out inside!

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So everyone... simply post your questions here and we'll fire them at Jack. Please keep in mind that Jack is the studio Creative Director and probably won't be able to answer hyper-specific game mechanic questions the same way Matt could.

NOTE: Please keep the questions to Cryptic and CoH/CoV... Marvel Universe Online is not in the scope of this interview.

Will City of Heroes ever support gaming devices like the Logitech G15 Gaming Keyboard, the Nostromo SpeedPad n52, the Xbox 360 controller and other devices with features currently not supported by the game? Will the game ever support the in-game ability to use Windows Live Messenger, Xfire, AIM, Yahoo Messenger and other programs? This would probably be in the form of extra in-game channels that are tied into the messenger feeds, or something similar. Will City of Heroes be taking advantage of any of the new development tools provided by Microsoft's XNA? Will the game ever support voice-recognition?

Does Cryptoc plan on creating any non-MMo spin-oofs of the CoH franchise? Would new tech from a possible spin-off possibly be able to be added into the MMO?

Does Cryptic ever plan on merchandising the game? Sculptures, wallscrolls, posters, action figures and such? Does the company ever plan on putting more resources into the comic? Why hasn't the company used any of the great talent that the games community has to offer? The Screenshots and Fan Art section is sorely underused. I haven't seen the Fan Art section on the main site updated in a long, long time. Why not even go so far as to hire some of these talented individuals to design comic covers, and posters for sale on the website? This game has such a talented creative sub-community and it's a shame to ignore it or shut it out.

Would it be possible to add to the main website a page that denotes what is in the works? You could rank things by probability, ammount of resources needed, difficulty to implement and so on. If problems crop up than update the page with that info. I remember seeing a Buffy the Vampire Slayer fansite that had rumors for upcoming episodes listed like this. The would list things as being unknowns and uncertainties, and as they got closer to the release date and new data was aquired they would update the topics as being baseless rumors or as being something that was a certainty (at least as close as they were comfortable rating it on some items with the information they had on hand).

What kinds of emails do you typically respond to and what kinds do you typically just read and then forget about? What kinds of posts in the forums get your attention, and get your attention enough to post.

What has been ironed out so far in terms of the I9 Inventions system? The CoX forums have been littered with that vague response of "you can create any reward", but is there any specifics you can offer? Maybe a small taste in terms of what we can expect to see, or just something a little more specific than what we've been getting.
Also, there has been a lot of talk about this invention system attracting Gold Farmers from WoW and other such games where looting has become business of sorts. Is there anything being implemented to ease this concept now that Salvage will become a far more valuable commodity? How will the way we obtain salvage change as inventions are implemented?
Also, talk of Inventions creating XP have been also floating around? is this true? if so what kind of XP rate are we talking?

For the record, the game is amazing and I'm a huge fan.

Matt's Miller made no references to base raiding, IoP raids and PvP in general. Is there anything planned with regards to these or am I just kicking a dead horse?

When CoH gets content, CoV is neglected, and visa versa. Not even Blizzard ever tried to develop more than 3 games simultaneously, what makes Cryptic think it can keep 4 going at once without neglecting atleast half of them?

Is there anything in the CoX games that you wish you'd never put in? Was there something that sounded great and then turned out to be a disaster or more trouble than it was worth?

Thanks for a great game! I waste many hours on it! :grin:

Aside from the villains and Hero TF for the IoP that is still not back ingame, will we see more supergroup/villain group content added to the Mission Computer that could maybe lead up to one of the signature AV's or something along those lines?

How goes the Marvel Universe MMO, any tasty news you could share with superhero hungry gamers already addicted to CoX franchise?

Without giving away too many details, I'd like to know what you foresee being added to the game by the end of 2008 - assuming that the current internal roadmap for features and issues is kept. IE, how many new zones/power-sets/archetypes? Also, what do you see as being the biggest challenge that the City of franchise and Cryptic face in the near-term?

I want to know if the archery/trick arrow combination will ever be available to the other "classes" besides defenders in both CoV and CoH (Im not counting the limited archery from ninja masterminds as it only has 3 archery powers).

Aside from the biggies: Invention system and Hamidon Raid what other things can we expect from I9 on the villain side? Any additional task forces, zones, contacts, or Accolades?

Poison Pill

First of all - you've made an INCREDIBLE game. I've been a comic book fan since I was a kid, and I too used to play some Villains & Vigilantes, as well as the Marvel RPG. I always hoped that someone would make a video game that could do this genre justice, and you guys have exceeded my expectations with CoH and CoV. I just wish you guys included a 12-step program for us addicts...

Now a few questions:

I understand it is very difficult to introduce new power sets for ATs. But the fact the scrapper AT doesnt have a regular punching/HTH set is really disappointing to me. So would it be possible to give scrappers Super Strength or Energy Melee, since this would be easier than creating a whole new set? Or are there any plans to offer a similar powerset in the near future?

When is the Cathedral of Pain coming back, or at least let us know where you are in fixing it. I tried it once, loved it, and was ready to try it again when it got pulled.

Is the invention system the only thing you have planned for lvl 50 characters? Why not create some new missions or task forces? How difficult would it be to just create a few new missions per patch that use already created villains and maps, just with a different story - kinda like modules in V&V or D&D? If you offered a new 'module' or mission arc or TF for lvl 50+ with each release, I think you would retain a lot more players and solve the whole 'end game' defecit so many complain about. Facing off against a new supervillain or threat every issue would be something to look forward to and give the players a chance to use the 50s they worked so hard on.

Any plans to create a co-operative zone, or some co-op missions where heroes and villains can team up like in the winter event? Why not open hami to both sides like a pvp zone?

There have been a lot of mixed feelings from most players about the Marvel MMO that cryptic is working on. I personally love the idea but am fearful in it's realease. In one discussion thread about it it was rumored that the beta launch was not going to be WinXP compatible and that the game itself was going to be DX10 compatible and not DX9. Ayway you can calm my fears about not being able to beta test let alone buy it when it's released?

I was a little disappointed to hear that new sets keep getting pushed back. Is there any point on the schedule that will see these take a front seat to other things? Tankers and scrappers are always clamoring for new sets (since they haven't had any since release), and these were mentioned as coming soonish when the new boxed set was scrapped.

They're pretty big things for us as players to get. I know they're tough to make, but we really, REALLY, REALLY want them.

"The Civic Squad: Food for the needy" mission that Weston Phillips gives had to be one of the most fun and surprising missions I've ever done in CoX. Any plans to create more stock villains and heroes along those lines? It would be great if unique characters like this randomly appeared in newspaper and radio missions.

Sometimes the "grind" feeling comes from "wow..another COT boss who looks exactly like all the others" Oh and glad to see you were a Villains and Vigilantes player!!!! I played that too..it was one of my first RPG's

With the introduction of several changes to the magnitude of powers (Enhancement Deversification) as well as the changes for how Accuracy and Defense scale is the -5% debuff associated with the Unyeilding power of the Invulnerablity set really necessary any longer?

What will the new epic archetype for City of Villians be? Will they be evil kheldians or a completely new epic archetype. And what type of powers would they have?

Forgot all about Villians and Vigilantes! Brought back good memories, thanks. :D

What/if any plans/ideas are there concerning Supergroups? Specifically, things that may help them be a more active part of a heroes time in Paragon.
Personally, I believe in helping the casual player feel like they have a 'home' and there are benefits in being a part of it. I understand that your fellow members and the relationships are the foundation for the enjoyment of being in the SG; however, the more opportunities a SG has to encourage activity the better.
Acouple things I've been thinkning about: SG missions -- when will the Cathedral IoP be on-line again? and....hopefully more TFs/missions connected through the SG mission computer.
More permissions to give members different opportunities when they gain a new rank so they have more of a incentive to be active in SG. SG specific badges for players that are possible given by the SG leader.
Anything that builds the smaller community within the game will only strengthen the CoH/V community and encourage players to stay and support the games continual success.

Here's some questions that I have for Mr. Emmert

Matt "Positron" Miller mentioned in his Ask the Devs Q&A that some content was being worked on for the 40 to 50+ heroes and villains. Can you maybe give us a hint as to what players can expect for possible end game content, especially for those in the lvl 50 range?

There's been some talk here and there about a secret Jack Emmert MMO project. What is it, when can I expect its release, and what do I have to do to get in on the beta?

Positron mentioned that it takes alot of resources (time and money) to create new powersets and ATs for the players. With the ones that were randomly mentioned by him in his Q&A. Is there any chance that some of the powersets mentioned have been in the works for quite sometime and we can maybe see something in the near future, like Issue 10?

My biggest fear with the new invention system is that it will create some kind of elite uber class amongst players. One thing that I loved about CoH/V was that there was no uber 133t gear needed to play the game and it wasn't required. No 40 man guild/sg raids and spawn camping or grindng so someone can get that rare drop. So what can you offer to dispel my fear on this issue?

With issue 20 being the last CoH comic from Top Cow. Is there a chance that maybe Marvel will pick up the title? Since Cryptic is working on the Marvel MMO.

Maybe this is a question for Lighthouse or Artic_Sun, but I always found the CoH/V website to be a bit dull. Is there anything in the works to get spruce it up a bit? Maybe allow for some fan created content to be intergrated into it and such.

Well that's about it. Thanks for taking the time to go thru these questions and hopefully you'll answer one of mine.

Are there any thoughts/plans of putting in New ATs (Non-Epic)? Say a Pets/Support Hero and a Buff/Melee Villain for example.

Are we going to see a Council/5th Column War type event before the close of the year. Many of the folks that weren't around to experience things such as the Rikti Invasion and the war feel we have missed out and would like to participate in a grand event of this type.

Are there any Villain Strike Forces planned for release before the end of this year? If so, what level ranges?

With the new invention system coming in issue 9, will we be able to craft usable weapons to replace the models that are used in current power sets? Most of the players that I know would really like to be able to craft a different looking katana, axe or an assault rifle to replace the "taped-together super soaker" looking weapon that their rifle blaster carries. If not, then is it reasonably possible to implement within your development budget and time table?
Also I've heard rumors about jet packs being added as costume back options like the wings. Are we going to have this option in the near future, and will we have new customizable models to choose from other than the current designs existing in the game (longbow, wyvern, skyraiders, goldbrickers, 0-G pack)? Will there be other back options such as a tactical backpack, or an environmental support unit for alien characters? Seeing something similar to the freakshow juicer chief's jacob's ladder style backpack would be a very amusing addition to a costume (ie: costume parts with effects built into them). What are the chances of seeing something like that implemented in the future?

Greetings Jack. I could go on and on about how I love the "city of..." franchise, and how I dreamed about a game like this for decades, but this website only has so much space. But let me just say thank you from the bottom of my heart, and leave it at that for now.

As for the questions, there are tons. But the two I am most concerned about is...

1) Having read the fearful discussion on the CoH forums on the future of the franchise, (MUO aside) it is understandable that due to original game engine limits and other factors, CoH will eventually reach a limit of peak upgrade-ability. A question on many people's minds is: Is there any plans, or even just ideas in the works, to possibly in the somewhat near future bring about a sequel to this groundbreaking and original game? The infamous CoX 2.0? Or any plan for future expansion of the game series, aside from the previously mentioned updates?

2)While both being phenomenal games by themselves (CoH and CoV), and even better together, the fact still remains that CoV is basically just a darker, modified version of CoH. With the exception of the Mastermind AT, and a few other odds and ends, it is the same ATs, the same mission ideas, and the same overall concept, which makes it seem more just like an expansion rather than a stand-alone. And the idea of bringing Nictus in as the Epic AT for villains really upset me just because it further drove this idea. They are both great games, but for those of us that own both, it is tough to find reason to play one over the other.
So my questions is: Is there any plans, or ideas even, to implement content that would make the the games different from each other? Something that would make those who are truly heroic just have to play CoH, and those with a little darker hearts have a reason to play CoV, rather than just to check out the newer content? Something that could really distinguish the two games from each other, other than different names for the same stuff and different storylines with the same general ideas? In other words, (since I consider myself more hero than villain) why should I want to play CoH over CoV (and vice versa)? Any plans to give each one it's own spotlight?

But no complaints (aside from Nictus villain Epic ATs), you have made a fantastic game that continues to exceed my expectations. Thank you for your hard work and doing your best to listen to your fans.

With Invention Enhancements coming so late in the game, there will obviously be characters full of Hamidon Origin enhancements that will be tempted to delete their HO's to replace them with Invention Enhancements(because of the "set" bonuses).

Will there be any "buffing" or changing of HO's to make them equally tempting?

Thanks in advance,

M

There are often crossovers between comic book companies. Is there any chance of a Marvel Universe Online/City of Heroes crossover, possibly for a special event?

Are there going to be anything to make bases with more non-PvP content any time soon? Like, more purely decorative items or possibly protecting your base from NPCs?

Thanks,
Bohanatsu

Are there any plans for a Strike/Task Force that launches from Pocket D? I've always found the teaming between heroes and villains during holiday events interesting and it would be nice to have something that could be undertaken during the "off season".

i would like to know is if there is anyway you can make it possible to be able to go more in depth with our Coh or Cov characters. Its frustrating having a limit to how much you can write in the bio section so if you could extend the limit or simply get rid of it, i would really appreciate it.

I would also like to know if there's any chance that there will be new costume choices available. I like the choices made available from the veteran rewards but i dont really want to wait 27 months before i can get a new cool costume piece. I'm not asking you to make the veteran reward costume pieces available now but simply give us some new stuff to keep us satisfyed until then. Like making some more arachnos style copstume pieces or costume styles from other villain factions. can you make the Kheldian belt sashes available? Since all the Kheldian NPC's have one i think it would be cool to have a Kheld only costume piece that only they can wear.

Also is there any way you could throw in some Kheldian related badges? like a badge for killing Voids and Quantums or finishing parts of the Kheldian story arcs?

any possibilty that some new emotes will come out? i think it would be cool to add instrumental emotes so your toons can play the guitar or dums or saxaphone, or an mp3 player emote or a portable gaming device. and do you think a walk feature could be added so we dont have to run when we only want stay in a smal area or just go a few feet like a walk toggle similar to sprint. it would also make our toons look cooler.

Do you think you could add a TF that required heroes and villains to team up. Because in a lot of cartoons and comics theres always that one time when the good guys and the bad guys have put their problems aside in order to destroy a greater evil. like the TF could start in a pvp zone and then once the team is assembled they could be ported to a special small zone like a pocket D type place where the TF can be carried out kind of similar to many of the missions in coatoa.

Jack, I read this quote in a 1up.com interview from September 27th (yes it's about MUO, but my question is about CoH):

But what CoH didn't engage in, that a game like WoW does, is an economy system. Playing the auction house in WoW is a game in and of itself, how does that interpret and how does that translate to the Marvel universe? We've got to figure that out.

CoH *is* about to engage in this with Wentworths and the Invention system, so my question is this:

Why are you taking some aspect of some other game that some other people made for some other genre, and attempting to try to find a way to make it fit in the superhero genre? Why are you not instead *starting* with the superhero genre, and trying to find ways to make its non-combat aspects work in an MMO?

By non-combat aspects, I'm referring to things like stopping runaway trains, mitigating the damage from natural disasters, and repeated appearances by personalized archvillains, to name a few. Please don't specifically refute those individual items, I'm asking about why you start where you do in your design process.

- It's previously been mentioned that Cryptic wants to get back to more story-driven issues. However, Issues 7 & 8 did little to progress the story. Will we see more of the story being progressed in the future? Do you have other ideas for progressing the story between Issues? Will we ever see the return of the Paragon Times?

- The past few Issues have introduced some really nice, new technology, but in most cases, only in a very limited fashion. In the future, will we see features like smashing the environment or stopping villains from doing so turn up in other areas of the game? For example, will we ever see a mission pop up during a story arc or TF which involves features from the Mayhem/Safeguard missions? It'd be nice to see these features incorporate the story of the game.

- You guys spend a lot of time creating beautiful zones, yet most of our missions send us to warehouses, office buildings, and sewers. Are there any plans to come up with more types of missions that have us fighting outdoors (aside Kill X missions)? Are there any plans to add more tilesets?

- What was the planned (and now cancelled) 2007 expansion going to be called? What features from it will we be seeing? When?

Here's a question for you;

Of late myself and others that I have seen in the PvP zones, especially Recluse Victory have been subject to tactics from others that basicially amount to schoolyard bullying. One friend of mine was in there with his Brute trying to finish hitting 50 when a hero attacked him. No biggie, its PvP, it happens. But when the hero states he's doing it so that his friends on the Villain side can basically swipe his heavy blaster unit and horde all the xp in the zone to themselves and when one of the villains sets himself to follow the brute around and report his location to the hero to speed up the process, that basically becomes schoolyard bullying, to phrase it nicely.

Needless to say things got heated rather fast with I and others chiming in to defend the Brute. In the end though he and the rest of us were basically chased from the zone by these cheap tactics.

So...here's the Question: since when does PvP override the EULA stipulations regarding stalking and harassment of other players?

Hello States.

Two-parter, I'll keep it short.

There is a lot of doom and gloom on the forums about how Marvel Universe Online will usher the death of the City of franchise. Could you or Posi make a "State(s) of the Union" on the boards?

We don't see a lot of Statesman represented in game. He is the only member of the Suriving Eight to be absent outside of history plaques and the Tyrant mission. Why is this?

Being the Creative Director, Jack, I believe you to be in a unique position to answer the following question: Who does CoX belong to, the players or the devs? Alot of individuals in the CoX community need to know the answer to this. Let me clarify this just so you and everyone else understands exactly where I am coming from.

Are we paying $15 a month per account for the PRIVILAGE to play this game or are you and your design team working for us?

There seems to be alot of nerfs in this system. From what I have distilled from the community forums, these are done for a sense of balance. Which brings me back to my question. If the game belongs to the individuals that are paying for the game then maybe we want it to be unbalanced in some aspects. If we are paying for the privilage to play CoX then i guess we should all just shut up and try to enjoy what we are sold.

Being the Creative Director, Jack, I believe you to be in a unique position to answer the following question: Who does CoX belong to, the players or the devs? Alot of individuals in the CoX community need to know the answer to this. Let me clarify this just so you and everyone else understands exactly where I am coming from.

Are we paying $15 a month per account for the PRIVILAGE to play this game or are you and your design team working for us?

There seems to be alot of nerfs in this system. From what I have distilled from the community forums, these are done for a sense of balance. Which brings me back to my question. If the game belongs to the individuals that are paying for the game then maybe we want it to be unbalanced in some aspects. If we are paying for the privilage to play CoX then i guess we should all just shut up and try to enjoy what we are sold.

Hello States and thank you for taking the time to do this.

By now, you must surely be aware that nearly the entire villain base is very upset with the PPP and how they under perform compared to the hero Epic powers. The question of why they were designed this way has often come up on the forums but it is continuously overlooked by red names despite several hundred names asking for an explaination. My question is thus a 3-parter.

1) Why are PPPs so inferior to Hero epics when we were told that they would be better due to the fact that the character is permanently locked into them?

2) If the permanency of the PPP was to "promote role-playing" as Posi said in the last interview, why then does choosing a patron not unlock costume pieces, chest emblems, strike forces or even prevent the foot soldiers of that patron from attacking when the character simply wanders by?

3) Posi also stated that the Patron permanency was to prevent "cookie-cutter" characters and thus made all of the PPPs nearly identical (which is rather ironic) yet some PPP are still clearly superior (Black Scorpion for having the only effective PvP immobilize, for example). Do the devs really think that the PPP are fine as-is and if so, how do you respond to the overwhelming player dissatisfaction?

Thanks again for all your time and effort into creating the CoX franchise.

i have a two parter...

1) will we ever see a level cap increase? such as from 50 to 60?

2) have you seen the thread about Signature Powers? and is there any chance in Hades we'll ever see something like this implemented? (link)

First off, thanks for taking the time to respond to your community. Second, good luck dealing with all of us fickle comic book fans on Marvel Universe Online.

As a lifelong comic book fan and a relative novice compared to most at CoX(15 months), how do you see the impact of Marvel Universe Online effecting the CoX franchise?

Are there any plans to reward the CoX players for staying with the game and not jumping ship to MUO?