Base Improvement Council

While not official I thought it would be good to have a thread where the base aficionados of dcuo could gather to discuss improvements, fixes, adjustments, and much needed updates to all things base related. Hopefully we can create a detailed thread that will gain notice from the devs. To start I'll list some things off the top of my head, feel free to add and discuss.

The Rules: Be courteous, and be creative.


1. Base Lighting- We currently have spotty lighting throughout our lair resulting in objects being darker than others depending on where they're placed.

2. Base Limitations- Items currently cannot penetrate walls, pillars, columns, and staircases. Allowing items to penetrate through physical boundaries would improve creativity and customization as much as allowing items to go on top of each other did.

3. Floor Plans- Each base has the same primary layout minus a few minor features, we need new layouts. Either in the form of marketplace purchases or game updates. Players should be able to further expand their bases for example those alcoves could be extended into a hallway that leads to an enclosed room, players could purchase this extension for $1 each. In pvp lair battles players could be placed in a default area or have their expanded areas replaced with "normal" walls.

4. Floor Plans Cont- We need actual floor plans added. Tile, carpet, wood, rugs etc sell packs or release new ones via the marketplace that replace the standard floor design with the ones selected.

5. Floor Plans Cont Again- You know those edges at the top floor and along the middle floor that drop down to the subsequent floor put a wall there. Release a floor plan that puts a wall instead of open space, not only is this a much needed safety feature (we don't have any railings!) it would allow players to have more wall space to customize and add upon.

6. Base Items- This could go on for a long time, but I'll keep these at the basics every base should have access to. Banisters, railings, giant rugs, rugs for the staircase!!, ceiling fans, drapes, curtains, front doors, windows, blinds. Our bases look incomplete without these basic real life features in them. Release packs catered to each existing base design or allow players to mix and match but either way allow players to have access so we can further customize the core of our bases.

7. Adding Life to Bases- We need to add life to our bases, something that makes them seem more like home living base items will achieve this. Cats that slink around the rooms, dogs that greet us at the door, maids and butlers waiting on us in our bedrooms etc. These items could work in various ways they could have 4 directional pathways that extend a certain amount and when we place them they pace in those directions (pausing occasionally to groom themselves, pant, observe the air, adjust their clothes, check their watch etc). We could also have a set fixture, imagine placing a nightclub section of dancing patrons in one spot in your base.

8. Hold Cog to Interact- A long requested feature, interacting with our base items. While this might take awhile to implement for every base item that could fit in this system it would be an amazing immersing feature. Holding circle to climb under the covers of your bed, to open the fridge and grab a soder cola out, to sit on the couch, to flip through the various channels on tv, to hop in our shower sim style blurred out etc. There's a lot of potential here.

9. Base Items and Marketplace cohesion- It's time to unite base items with the marketplace in a manner that is attractive to both the consumer and seller. Every Episode launch should simultaneously put all the base items dropping into a marketplace pack. All base items currently in the game should be categorized and placed into packs. All of these packs need, yes need to be infinitely redeemable it's the only way to capture both the dedicated base decorator market and the casual market. Dcuo should be listing the items in the marketplace in a manner that is enticing to people that will lay down whatever money they need and those that don't want the item. Yes, dcuo should be targeting people that don't necessarily want the item by making the price so good that people say "why not?". Base item packs should all be no more than 3.00, why? Because these items already exist in game and they have to be cheap enough to encourage people to buy in-bulk and not just one pack a year because they're so expensive (New base are a part of content we pay for through membership so they shouldn't be priced differently)

10. Base Themes- Despite these being discontinued they're a great way to create different ideas and they should be brought back and expanded. Atlantean, Khandaqian, Island, Nature, Artic, etc design new ones. Change pricing to something more reasonable like 5 dollars, they should be aimed at the casuals and hardcore crowd.

11. Base Item Vendor- Place a base item vendor in-game that lists all items (excluding SM/exclusives) alphabetically priced at 1 mark of victory or 10 marks of valor. Players can earn gear through loot drops and by playing the game and saving marks, allow base decorators to do the same.

12. HQ Vendors- Allow players to earn or purchase exclusive vendors that sell our respective HQ's gear. While there is an argument that keeping players out in the open so to speak is good for the game this would be a minor perk that wouldn't steal the population away. If players don't want to be in their HQ's but they need gear they'll just pop in then leave, instead allow players to access their gear through private vendors (this system could even be tied through expanding the renown system).

Good lord, yes to all of this.

The only thing which can't realistically happen is number 8. The reason is a technical one. The base items aren't built to a scale. Chairs have different heights, as do beds and all sorts. This means it'll be extremely difficult to animate them effectively without going back and rebuilding every single model and texture, something I don't see happening nor would I want.

What I would say, though, is it might be possible if they made every base item from a certain point in the future, on a scale which they can then animate to. But I'm not convinced this can happen within the scope of the game.

I would love a new "dolls house" style lair that isn't built for content. Purely cosmetic and hanging out. Fully customisable colours, surfaces and vistas. Perhaps the ability to change the vista to whatever you want in addition to the textures on the geometry. Want an Ice themed Fortress of Solitude base that looks out over Khandaq? Feel free. Want an Underwater Mogo? Knock yourself out.

Even if only 1 out of 10 base items going forward had the ability to be interactable that would be a great change. I like the doll house idea, it reminds me of cosmetic armories in a sense.

This bit warmed my heart the most. This is such a much needed addition. I would have bought every base item pack if this were the case.

Players like you and I are the demographic for these kinds of products. Nobody is more suitable than us. If we're telling them this and that they're over priced, they need to pay attention.

Heck even if lairs have to be linked to content perhaps its time to introduce some PvE lair battles into the mix? Throw in some new lair PvP types that aren't death-match to go with the different lair types... Bam you just monetized PvP without requiring everyone to buy the new PvP content to compete(Instead you're selling the arenas for the new PvP content to the people that want to decorate said arenas for their own amusement.) Just imagine for a moment:

Lair PvP deathmatch:
Lair PvP security hack(The goal of the attacking team is to turn the cogs on the decorator panel, the mainframe and then the generator with there being re-spawns and everything.)
Lair PvP king of the hill(The lairs designed for each PvP type have their own layouts, and maybe some variants.)
Lair PvE
Lair PvE survival mode.
Lair PvP survival mode Two teams, one team is the defenders(Who can't re-spawn at all but get a few minutes to set up/activate some defenses like turrets and traps, and healing stations.) The other team is the attackers(Who can re-spawn after every wipe and get stacking buffs every time they do so. Their goal is to wipe out the defenders and hit the cog the defenders have to protect.) Rewards are based on how many rounds the fight goes for... (Defenders get a small starting reward that is multiplied by how long they survive, Attackers start out with a big reward that gets smaller the longer it takes them to wipe out the defenders and or turn the cog.) What do you think?

Um iconic style bases seems sweet to me. A fos theme, batcave not the cave but a batcave with batman type stuff.
Lantern style
Joker funhouse style


Make like 4 main patterns. Every one laid out the same is boring

More amenity spots.

Less pillars.

The cave lair has less wall space than other lairs.

The ability to reduce or enlarge the size of some items. Not the ones meant specifically for league halls, but ones that are really to big to put anywhere. Granted these items may have been meant for the league hall, but we weren't warned like we are now.

I also would like to be able to make some of the ceiling thing that you able to put on ceilings. When you put these items in the league hall you can't see them unless you fly up. It would be nice for them to hang lower.

I fully endorse more base customization.

However, I fear that since our small development team is hard pressed to releasing 2 new powers, and new monthly content, that this will be considered a "quality of life" idea and not gain much traction.

I am still waiting for some quality of life bug items to be fixed on clothing that hasn't been addressed and that isn't as much of an undertaking if that gives you any perspective.

But yes, if possible, do it

Yeah, they should be iconic, but not so much so to the point where the base ONLY resembles a batcave/FOS etc. I.e. don't make certain, unchangable textures that feature the Batman symbol or whatever.

I'd rather see a generic batcave inspired base, then an additional pack which includes things like The Batmobile, T-Rex, Giant Coin, Batwing, Batcomputer etc. so that if you want to make it into a batcave, then you can, but you can also use those items to make a Bat penthouse suite in the Penthouse lair or whatever floats your boat

Admittedly, I'm not much of a base decorator as my spatial abilities are lacking. But I do value this part of the game as there are clear elite players in this area. And I like going to my base before I log off. Anyway, I support this thread.

There are some floor Items that would good on walls and vice versa some wall items that would work on the floor. Would be nice if there was an option to swap where some of these items can be placed.

It should first be noted I am no base decorater BUT SOLD. Great improvement to me idea as it adds flexability and custamization.

I so wish they did the iconics and a few different layouts

I do find my second base pointless because all my armories are in one base. Kinda wish if we cant that we could have em in both. I should check but I cant remember the last ti e I went to base number 2.

You're thinking of the Star Sapphire/New Genesis teleporter pads aren't you because I know I am :'(

I am sorry but you leave me no choice but to fully support this thread x100000000. Especially the new floor plans and railings. Really wish our vanity pets could walk around our bases. Also them adding vanity pets to the marketplace

That would be such a great idea.

As a rough concept, perhaps a unit where you load your trinket into it (for storage or w/e) and it spawns the pet, which then wanders around your base.

Heck, for us magician type characters it would be kind of fun to have upside down versions of floor and ceiling items so as to make our lairs look all topsy turvy...

Sorry not to be rude but safety rails we are supposed to be super powered beings. But I do agree we could have something to make it seem more alive walking adds or bartenders that do something

Yeah, we're super powered beings and all that jazz, but that doesn't mean our lairs weren't or couldn't designed for normal people.... Maybe we want to have safety rails in our lairs so we can practice jumping over them dramatically, or to keep Alfred from sueing our butt because our lair wasn't OSHA compliant and he fell over an unprotected ledge into some toxic sludge or spiky alien plant life, or heck maybe we just want some safety rails just for show so that the muggles don't realize we can fly... Lair decorating is all about roleplay. Oh and speaking of Alfred, when can we get a butler/maid reskin for a soder vendor?

As for giving life to our bases, they could implement a console where we could insert SM trinkets that would be constantly wandering around our bases

Changing the size of base items would be a great feature.

Amenity skin packs would add a lot of customization, both organic and inorganic vendors