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A New Look at DC Universe Online
MMORPG.com's Carolyn Koh takes a look at DC Online, the superhero MMORPG in development by SOny Online Entertainment.
When we last saw DC Universe Online, it was the very first look at the game, wonky camera angles and all. Six months later, it continues to look better and better as development moves right along. At CES 2009, Creative Director Jens Andersen and Senior Producer Wes Yamasagi were enjoying themselves by playing the game and showing off their latest developments.
Jens ran through the various attributes a player could select to make a unique character in character creation. First, there's the ability to play either a hero or a villain, then the player selects the Super Power like ice, heat, sound or radiation to name a few, and the way it manifests. Perhaps you want to use a ring like Green Lantern does or perhaps you prefer gadgetry like Batman, a mace like Hawkman, cast magic like Zatanna with just the spoken word or just throw fireballs with your hands. Players also get to select a Movement type like Flight or Acrobatics. The "Origins" attribute seems to have gone by the wayside and now we have Traits which Jens said he'd explain during the demo, but somehow I never quite pinned down, I'm afraid.
Acrobatics as a movement type was in game and it manifests as the ability to make super long leaps crossing both the X and the Y axes, the ability to cling on the side of buildings to scale it in several jumps and do "air dashes" which was the ability to change direction while in the air and cover short distances even faster. In that manner, he was able to keep up with Wes who has super speed as a movement type, in traveling from one area to another.
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Another new feature they talked about was the "Inspiration" option in character creation. A player could start character customization by selecting this option and select an original DC character. You could select "Inspired by Green Lantern" for example and a Hero character would be generated for you that had flight and power that manifests through a ring. From there on, you would tweak every aspect from gender to costume, from affiliation to powers. More artwork has gone in for costumes and all the characters Jens had in his stable looked spiffy smart. In-game, Jens' costume was a skintight leotard with sexy leg wrappings. Er... his female character that is, not Jens himself.
The UI has gone through a new iteration, the looks of which I liked very much, but it was still not finished of course, and not what they were showing off. A small icon on your character panel showed the role you had selected and are playing. The ability to pre-load skills for different role profiles such as attack, defense and support (basically different macro bars) was easy to use and these profiles can be swopped out on the fly. That is to say if your support guy goes link dead in the middle of your caper, someone in the group can easily switch quickly into that role.
"We've got much more of a world now," Jens showed me as we ran around Metropolis. "Remember when all you could do was run around a single street at FanFaire?" Indeed I remembered as I had gone the wrong way and suddenly run out of NPCs and other street objects. The DCUO version of quests is known as Cases and Capers; Cases for the heroes and Capers for the villains. We took on a Case and Oracle spoke up in a pop-up interface to guide us to our next objective, once that was completed, it led on to another objectives and eventually, we were directed to assist Superman in Star Labs.
As we ran along the streets, we also found passersby running in the opposite direction as well as friendly NPCs that have been knocked out. Reviving the NPCs meant we had allies to help keep the yard-trash down. Jens was rightly proud to show off the world they had created. Great urban-scapes, new water graphics and a raised mono-rail high above the city. I managed to tease Jens into scaling a pylon and running on top of the mono-rail to get to Star Labs instead of running on the ground which he did magnificently until he fell off.
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Cases and Capers can be found both in public areas and private (instanced) areas. Players often start quests in public areas before moving into private instances where they could interact with boss mobs and original DC universe characters. In this instance, we were sent to assist Superman in securing Doomsday and Star Labs. Lexcorp goons had infiltrated Star Labs and accidentally released Doomsday. Not good, but the super boy scout was there and we were on our way. Players can heal themselves, other players as well as allied NPCs, although it wasn't Superman that needed help as we were knocked out a few times but recovered (or a buddy could revive you) quickly to jump back into the fray. Eventually, we knocked out all the LexCorps minions and secured Doomsday. Not without some collateral damage as it was just too much fun to pick up something big and heavy and hurl it at the goons.
DING! Jens leveled. I swore it was the exact same sound as the character leveling sound in EQ whereupon Wes quipped that it was the SoE signature leveling sound. At this time, SoE has not yet set a release date and this is yet a pre-alpha build. It is still a vertical slice created for a demo, but it certainly is a substantial slice. UI improvements, camera improvements (no more wild swings as you ran / flew around but a much more stable camera view), still not a lot of detail revealed about the different systems, but dang, it looks good. I can't wait to see what it looks like by the time E3 rolls around.
I like the way this game is starting to shape up. These new images don't look near as cartoony as some of the earlier ones, and what I feared the game would look like over all. Finally a new game for me to look foward too. Been playing City of Heroes since shortly after it launched, great game but maps are to repetitive. It's nearing the end of it's life I'm afraid and since I've yet to hear anything about a CoH 2, this might be the next best thing. Heck might just be the best thing period!
I agree. I don't like the graphics of Champions Online and this is looking like it might be a great alternative. I'll be checking this one out.
Looks interesting, I'm not entirely keen on the art direction Champions Online is taking either.
Hearing the old EQ Ding sound would bring back a smile though :)
I am also looking forward to this game, I like the ideas they have and the graphics now look much better.
I tried City of Heroes and loved the customization, but got bored of all the instances fast. (My opinion), I just hope htis game is not that instanced with a more open area to explore while fighting the bad guys. :)
I'm going to mimmick others sentiments and throw SoE a bone here. Great visuals and the game mechanics sound entertaining. I'll be keeping an eye on this one and will most undoubtably buy and play through the first free month after it releases.
Oh, and Champions Online doesn't appeal to me either, due to the graphics/art style they went with.
Im getting that happy feeling again ;p
I'll throw my bit in as well on the graphics turn off of CO. As such, and that I liked CoX a great deal, I have been keeping an eye on this one. I still wonder at the character creator though as I am spoiled from the city of games. Right now in the screenshots I have seen for DC Online the player characters look rather lack luster and they all seem to be in some sort of "tights" variation. That's certainly a way to go but as those that played CoX know while you could go the tights route you could also go a million different other directions as well.
Just as I don't see me playing CO because of the art direction I don't see me playing this one without some character diversity. Would love to see an interview about the character/costume creator here!
*hint hint* 
I agree.
However, I sure wish this was "Marvel Onlien" and not "DC Online." :(
First off this is SOE we are talking about. Anything done by Cryptic will be light years better, you can rest assured about that.
Secondly, look for microtransactions to heavily influence this game. If you have not figured out how that shortens the life of a MMO, you are like lambs being lead to the slaughter.
Shame too, might have been a decent game.
Sadly there are two big things hurting this game:
1) SOE being attached to it
2) It being DC Universe instead of Marvel Universe
From what I've seen so far I think Champions Online is going to out shine DC Universe.
Unfortunately Cryptic appears to be a one trick poney and while I expect great customization, I expect Champions Online is going to be as dull and boring as its predecessor.
DC Universe already looks light years ahead of CO.
oh good lord you guys act as if SOE raped your mother ... get over it already they produce some of the better MMOs out there. I hate what they did to SWG as well but you know what im not going to let that drive me away from another title ... just SWG.
I really can't wait for this game I like COH/V but like someone else said thier missions get very repetitive and thier raid content was a joke. if SOE can improve on both of those aspects i can see myself playing it for a long time.
I like the idea of switching roles, usually I am not a fan of this type of thing (i dont like hybrid classes that can do it all) but for a superhero game it really does fit. I have never heard of a superhero being a tank, dps or healer. I am interested in hearing how that plays out.
like others have said I don't like the graphic style of Champions online ... never been into the whole cell shade style ... so thats another thing that draws me to DCUO.
keep up the good work SOE.
SOE will do its best to make the game DC/WB wants. Lucas Arts is just as guilty for SWG failings. If you understood how much control LA has over SWG, you would rethink your hate. EQ haters may have valid arguments but SOE had to keep thier games competitive and viable to the market.
For all those that remeber the launch of the NGE on SWG, its a much better game today. There is much more even with the broken concepts from the NGE that both LA and SOE cling to.
Keep in mind that DC has some influance on this game and will get a licences check. They govern what is done with their characters for story or content. SOE has to follow a "bible" on these issues. Marketing practices, hopefully, will be under SOE and not DC. This is where SWG suffers now.
I really haven't payed any attention to this game...but after watching the CES 2009 Developer video I'm paying attention now. The game looks great...I never bothered checking the game out because I'm just not a DC fan really. As a teen and into my 20's I always collected either Marvel or Image comic. I really enjoy SOE games...unlike the rest of the haters on these forums.
Looks cool, definitely gonna check this one out. Is it just me or does that hero dudes knees look funky?
Unfortunately Cryptic appears to be a one trick poney and while I expect great customization, I expect Champions Online is going to be as dull and boring as its predecessor.
DC Universe already looks light years ahead of CO.
I don't know about that. SOE has been showing the same exact clips in their trailers for over a year now, except in different orders per clip. Same city scape, same generic underground lair, same running up buildings and flying poses in said city scapes, choppy animations, etc. I'm not seeing any progress at all based on the trailers and screenshots. I'm not feelin' it.
Lambs being lead to the slaughter......?
Bit dramatic don't you think?
I've always wanted to play a superhero mmo that wasn't an insanely long boring npc grind. Why force people to play the same toon for a thousand freaking years just to keep them around when you could make leveling up a lot quicker and instead, have a super detailed character creation system to keep them around. Like, a shit-load of classes like Shadowbane or some kind of classless system with tonnes of choices to make a bunch of different types of characters.
Let's hope this is it!
You're pretty much describing Champions.
Looking better than Champions Online...for now!
Sound like it might be fun. I'm less interested in Champions Online partly because of the art but mostly because I'm an old Champions pen and paper player and I can't stand what they did to the old Champions iconic characters. At least the DC Online iconic characters look like they're supposed to look.
Also I was less than impressed with Cryptic's game design in several respects. Great customization and decent story but horrible zone and mission maps.
Of course, there's no telling what flaws DC Online will have and the Champions Online might fix the weaknesses of CoX. It should be interesting to see these two superhero MMOs go at it.
I don't know about that. SOE has been showing the same exact clips in their trailers for over a year now, except in different orders per clip. Same city scape, same generic underground lair, same running up buildings and flying poses in said city scapes, choppy animations, etc. I'm not seeing any progress at all based on the trailers and screenshots. I'm not feelin' it.
You know what really helps? Reading the article!!! The article does say that DC Universe is still in pre-Alpha, meaning they are showing what is finished. The other instanced areas and cities are probably not in a state that is presentable to the public.
"micro transactions to heavily influence this game". Could you provide a link please?
I'm staying away from Champions Online because it's made by Cryptic. CoH is beyond boring and Cryptic failed to learn from their mistakes so I have no faith in them making Champions a compelling MMO that will hold interest for long periods of time.
Hmm, this made me change my mind about DCUO. I'll have to give this game a shot when it launches. *thumbs up*
I don't know about that. SOE has been showing the same exact clips in their trailers for over a year now, except in different orders per clip. Same city scape, same generic underground lair, same running up buildings and flying poses in said city scapes, choppy animations, etc. I'm not seeing any progress at all based on the trailers and screenshots. I'm not feelin' it.
You know what really helps? Reading the article!!! The article does say that DC Universe is still in pre-Alpha, meaning they are showing what is finished. The other instanced areas and cities are probably not in a state that is presentable to the public.
"micro transactions to heavily influence this game". Could you provide a link please?
I'm staying away from Champions Online because it's made by Cryptic. CoH is beyond boring and Cryptic failed to learn from their mistakes so I have no faith in them making Champions a compelling MMO that will hold interest for long periods of time.
I did read the article, Captain Assumptions. Again, it's been a year and they're showing nothing new - the same "pre-alpha" stuff they showed last year = no progress. And I never mentioned anything about micro-transactions. Get your quotes straight. You know what helps? Reading posts and figuring out who said what!!!
What about SOE? Not all their games have micro transactions and it's not like they were the first to do this or the last. City of Heroes is a superb game, but let's be honest, it's just plain repititive to an ungodly degree.
I'm not saying DC Online is going to take off like a rocket, cause frankly, one super hero game is enough. However, this constant finger pointing at SOE is truely getting old. If you people hate SOE so much, stop reading their game forums, seriously.
Until your precious NCSoft / Cryptic Studios decides to get off their high horse and offer multiple games for 1 low price, I see no reason to boast their reputation over SOE, or any gaming company for that matter.
It is nice to see an MMO that isn't tied down to craptastic visuals with the cheap excuse of stylization, surprising that it is a superhero MMO, and more surprising that it is from SOE.
If a damned superhero MMO from SOE can do it, there's hope for this industry yet. Someone get the memo to [next-gen MMO title].
You didn't read the article. If you had read the article you would know the writer said that since the last time he had played DCU it has made a lot of progress.
Because well, the writer of the article has actually played the game and you are complaining that a video shown at a trade show doesnt have new footage.
Also, like I said before since its pre-Alpha so what progress they have made is probably not in a state they want the public to see. If they show a new area that doesnt have final texture mapping, modeling and lighting the SOE trolls will jump all over it declaring it looks terrible.
So why (question directed to mmorpg.com staff) isn't this listed under "games in development" yet and have a forum attached to it; plenty of half-finished vaporvare that may or may not see the light of day in that list while this one (DC Universe Online) seems to be coming along rather nicely :)
I agree...this mmo needs a forum of it's own!
Dang you are like the third person in so many days saying this and now you are about to find out that there has been one for quite some time. the only problem is its not on the left side under "Games in Delevopment"
Nevertheless , allow the Jestor to assist the lazy and the lost -
www.mmorpg.com/gamelist.cfm/game/350/view/forums
You are welcomed
Smedley has stated that micro transactions are the way to go and upcoming SOE titles will have them. Here's a link to one such interview: linky
Quote from article:
Imagine being able to purchase, with Station Cash, a guild photo that we set up that is physically mailed to everyone in your guild. You buy a guild photo and you click a button, and it gets mailed to you or everyone you choose in your guild (if you're an officer). Or what about a t-shirt with your character on it?
We want to do stuff that will mix in-game and out-of-game elements, and we want it to be a currency across all of our games that we could get it into. For now that means EQ, EQ2, and Free Realms, and eventually DC Universe Online and The Agency down the line.
And:
I also believe firmly that this will eventually get rid of farming and those things. Or at least it will drastically decrease it. Here's a good example why: Instead of paying some power leveler, buying an experience potion lets you do it yourself a lot faster. Where's the harm in that? That's our thought on it.
Game looks nice, I love super heroes, but as a general rule I dislike micro transaction games, and Station Cash as an extension. Unlike Smed I personally DON'T like mixing in-game with out-of-game stuff. I don't hate SOE but I'll prolly pass on DC.
looking forward to this game from what i've seen. I hope it ROCKS
I am noticing a few posters comment on things on the apparent limited options in costumes, I am not going to pull the "it's in alpha" phrase and that's B.S. what I will do is point people to the CES 09 video that shows off a few characters that are more then just the spandex feast we saw in 2008.
GameTrailers.com: http://www.gametrailers.com/player/44275.html
You will also notice that the combat area has expanded from the single block shots we saw in 2008. So progress "is" being made and there "are" more options then just spandex.
I am watching both Champions Online and DC Universe Online very closely, it's nice to see some more non-high fantasy MMOs in the works and I looking forward to see how the two MMOs turn out a long with TOR.
I don't expect anything good out of this MMO. First off, it's SOE, that alone is like a huge red WARNING LABEL on the box.
But it's worse than that. DCMMO has for the last 2 years been the "this MUST save the company project". They are on at least their third Lead Dev and Lead Producer, having already chewed through two previous who were Star Wars Galaxies NGE developers (another WARNING LABEL) and this is reportedly because SOE senior management (Smed) has been micromanaging the development.
Basically they can't hold onto a Dev team, it's a revolving door. Plus you know this will be tied into every gawdawful Smed RMT money grab scheme there is.
If you want to play a superhero game now, play COH/COV. If you want to play a new one, wait for Cryptic's Champions Online, I guarantee you that on their WORST day, Cryptic will be better than SOE on their "best".
The game should have a real warning label on the box that reads:
"WARNING, the publisher of this game has and WILL change game play at any time, including the following: deletions of items, deletions of whole professions, deletions of MOST professions, deletions of content for professions marketed for an expansion DAYS after the expansion's release, sudden inclusion of exclusive new content to "loot cards" earned by gambling in a card game you have to purchase deck by deck with real money, sudden inclusion of RMT store in game a year after this being promised to NEVER happen, and more, including announcement of the upcoming deletion of 2/3rds of the game the day after you were charged for an expansion."
SOE has, of course, done all those things. And worse.
It looks good. Ok, I am biased being a DC comics fan, heh, but the graphics look SO much better than Champions. And before we get the usual SOE bashing: EQ2 was quite a good MMO, period. Neither did EQ1 suffer under its hegemony. It could be good. Aww... long time not had any butterflies over a MMO. Lets hope we gonna see more, soon.
I don't know.. it looks too similiar to CoH/CoV right now. I personally would have enjoyed a more comicbook artistic style to the mmo. Not only do i think it would make it more distinguished it would also make the game run smoother but alas whatever I'll keep an eye out but it doesn't seem anything super exciting that i haven't seen before.... plus i wish it was the marvel universe instead of dc but oh well.
You are indeed right about that. I too was with CoH from it's first days and I'm sorry to see it will be left behind after all the time my good friends and I invested in it. But It was bound to happen, they've just had way too many mis-steps over the years and their latest ones were the final straw for me. But then again in a twist of Irony, CoH owed quite a bit of its subscriber base to the fact that SoE screwed the pooch so bad with S.W.G., leading to a big migration.
Those guys put in charge of CoH both before and after Jack Emmert left, knew full well the consequences of literally destroying their players' characters with such huge but half-assed ovehuals .
thank you for sharing. i like the coming out game. it looks very interesting. i don't like the game onle focusing on leveling. this game seems that it has hel my interest. i'll keep close attn on it.
I have to agree that the art does look much better than what I've seen so far from this game and as an old school comic fan there isn't much chance I won't try this game (despie who's making it) but I do have to add that to this point I haven't heard anything that really stands out about this game for me.
I think part of my issue is I consider myself a bit of a sandbox gamer and ontrary to popular belief I do think lot's of games have sandbox elements to them but for most of us we only see it if it appeals to us therefore people don't consider lotro a sandbox game nor wow which I do, I've spent countless hours in both of those as well as a few other games crafting, gathering, hanging out with friends and on and have had a blast doing it. It's the kind of gaming I've grown to love and one of the reasons it was always so hard for me to stick with coh/v which I have played a few times off and on it got so repetitive so quickly with nothing else to do but battle over and over and made worse by the highly repetative maps. Unfortunately this game so far as well doesn't seem to offer much more than combat nothing to truly flesh out your avatar and I hope that does change.
Some may say "well it's so early in development that we don't know what they are going to do" and to that I would say in some respects that 's true but it's also been put in print the emphasis they are placing on making an "action based" mmo which makes me think this will be one of those games I may like but never love enough to dedicate alot of time or money to, I hope also that the effect that coh has on the community doesn't hurt them as well because when folks start to play this game and if it does come off with a similar feel it will become a "same old hat" situation even quicker.
So I have enough interest to try it but my expectations aren't set too high at this point not unless I hear more about alter egos,crafting etc.
I'm not going to get on the SOE-hate bandwagon. But I will remind everyone the S in SOE is for Sony, a large powerful company loosing money fast. They want a money maker and they want it now. I expect DCUO to either be rushed out the door quickly or cut back. Either way, its future doesn't look good. Micro-transactions may be nice for a company, but they can ruin a game. Succeeding in a game should be a matter of skill and not having a fat wallet. It will turn MMOs into CCGs and you all know how that is.
Also since SOE is a large company, they think they know best. Put that ego against DC who owns the intellectual property rights to characters so old they should collect social security. We have two groups with strong wills trying to colaberate on a game. Do you think that's going to work well?
Not like CO is much better. The art style is generic-comic-book and while that may make it easier to play on mid-lower end machines (like mine), it doesn't appeal to me. It doesn't say, "I'm new and advanced!" Plus Cryptic is treating the Champions IP like a dog treats a hydrant. (If you're going to have a guy in a power suit, then you can't leave his neck and chin exposed. The first explosion and it's windpipe flambe.) Even ignoring the treatment of the IP and art style, they have a twitch based system and I'm not fond of those either. Plus they kicked my friend out of beta testing since someone else on his network has CoH.
This game sounds a lot like City of heroes. I wonder if it wil be/play much different.
I don't see this one doing any better than CoH.
It will sell more boxes, because of the famous IP, but it will lose lots of subscribers fast.
They should have used the IP to make an action single or multiplyer game.
I don't think superheroes MMO have a big appeal, I don't see the long term fun of it.
I am very excited for this game. Not only because I love the DC IP but they are finally making an action mmo. Similar to an FPS where skill (and twitch) decides the victor.
Agreed sadly.
The shading is what ruined it (Champions) for me.
If they had a way to remove that filter, you bet.