Paragon Studios, the recently christened NCsoft subsidiary responsible for the development of the first ever Superhero MMO City of Heroes announced today that they are working on the game's second expansion (the first having been City of Villains in 2005).
The expansion, according to the announcement press release, will allow, "hero and villain characters will become immersed in the new parallel universe known as Praetoria, which is governed by Tyrant™, the evil incarnation of the game's main protagonist, Statesman™. As gamers search for Tyrant and the rest of his Praetorian guard, implacable foes and fierce resistance will arise to face them from all sides, causing heroes and villains alike to question their loyalties." This move brings moral shades of grey into the game for the first time.
While the expansion is still in its early stages, meaning that Paragon Studios is still pretty hush-hush about the details of the project, Senior Lead Designer Matt Miller took the time to answer a couple of questions (some more cryptically than others) from MMORPG.com:
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MMORPG.com: |
Going Rogue takes place in an alternate universe. Is this move an attempt to capture the popularity of the alternate universe storylines present in some of the major comic book company lines? |
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Matt Miller: |
We've had alternate universes in CoH since even before Issue 1, like the Rikti Homeworld, the Hydra dimension, and of course the Shadow Shard. They are definitely a staple of the genre and we'd be remiss to ignore them. |
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MMORPG.com: |
Will what your character does in the parallel universe affect the character in the "real" universe, or are the two separate? |
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Matt Miller: |
The two universes are separate, but joined. What your character does in one only truly affects that one, but that can have repercussions across both worlds. |
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MMORPG.com: |
Will players be able to use the Mission Architect system to create Praetoria missions? |
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Matt Miller: |
Yes, the Mission Architect is a holographic simulator, so players can use it to make whatever type of missions they want. I expect some players will start making up their own stories about the world of Praetoria via Mission Architect right away, based on the (admittedly) very little information we've released at this time. They will have to wait for the release of the expansion to get access to any new maps, NPCs or villain groups we've included, however. |
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MMORPG.com: |
Will Going Rogue introduce new missions to the game, or simply allow hero characters to experience villain content and vice-versa? |
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Matt Miller: |
Lots of new missions. Lots. It's not just "make your Mastermind into a Hero" and call it a day. What is the path your Mastermind takes? What is the trigger that got them to consider a line between good and evil? What made them cross that line? |
The original announcement can be found here.
