Trust Issues

Discussion in 'Gotham City (General Gameplay)' started by MrMigraine, May 15, 2019.

  1. MrMigraine Devoted Player

    Once upon a time, I played an MMO called Final Fantasy XI.

    This was my introduction to online gaming, and it while it was a glorious experience, I quickly learned that the game's developers were quite intent on requiring players to group up. You could achieve very little solo.

    Fast forward fifteen years and the video game landscape has changed. Most MMOs - even FFXI and FFXIV - have been forced to introduce robust solo paths for their players. Not everybody has the time or patience to play with other people, but they still want their progression even in dwindling populations.

    In order to help that along, FFXI introduced their Trust System - the ability to recruit famous NPC allies that would help you in group content as Tanks or Healers or whatever you needed them to be.

    So Proxy's recent thread about the potential Batman sidekick got me to thinking: DCUO would be a perfect place for such a system to work. You need a Tank? Give Superman a call. A Healer? Maybe Felix Faust won't kill you. These Trust Allies would stick with you for the whole instance, and while they wouldn't be as effective as a human player, they'd at least help folks get into content instead of running around in circles in their bases.

    As queue times for low-end content get longer and longer, I think that new players would love the idea of teaming up with Iconics to finish some of those early Duos, Alerts and Raids. Yes, it would undoubtedly lengthen queue times for those who want to do it the 'normal' way, but it would help with new player retention (IMO). Yes, tt's a trade-off, but it would be fun and thematic and would allow even OG players to get into content they haven't seen in years.

    tl; dr: I'd like to see Iconic NPCs available as spot-fillers for instanced content.
    • Like x 20
  2. recoil2 Dedicated Player

    "wouldn't be as effective as a human player" wait i didn't know there was such a thing as LESS THAN USELESS XD. i support this idea whole heartedly, even if it might end up a switch the whole team has to agree to, a few dozen group wipes should convince even the people against it to go with it if they HAVE to.
    • Like x 6
  3. Apollonia Dedicated Player

    Great suggestion. This was suggested several years ago but didn't get much traction at the time. Hopefully it sees a better response now that people are more likely to see the obstacles with game design that relies on others to progress.
    • Like x 6
  4. granddaughterlover Active Player

    anything to get reduced queues
    • Like x 7
  5. SkullGang Devoted Player

    Would be interesting but would they be limited to duos only ? If they are available in alerts then I have a feeling they cant make them too good at the risk of putting it on no risk mode.
    • Like x 6
  6. willflynne 10000 Post Club

    I'd have to wonder if any sort of adjustments to those NPCs to get them to try and perform roles might result in some wonkiness outside of those instances. I've just seen too many unintended side effects across many games to think it couldn't happen.

    But just on a personal level, I've yet to see an AI in any game I've played that I'd trust that much.
    • Like x 2
  7. Proxystar #Perception

    Haha funny you mention this because i thought the exact same thing and was talking to some league mates about this identical thing i think last weekend.

    This would be a brilliant system because it could also be used to address the dreaded stat clamp, forced queue argument, because players can just force the queue with iconics.

    Let people queue with iconic trust allies instead of other players.

    It could be done in a way where it's harder because the trust ally isn't as proficient as a human.

    But i think in one foul swoop this would fix queuing issues and a raft of things, making all content viable to queue. I'm all for this, I hope the devs look at this.
    • Like x 7
  8. MrMigraine Devoted Player


    I was thinking they'd be able to be used in all instanced content (Raids and Alerts too), but the content itself (and rewards) would be adjusted down to Event level. The Iconics would be helpful (especially Tanking/Healing), but you as the player would end up doing most of the heavy lifting. Or if you prefer doing your role, it'd give you a chance to have Wonder Woman as your DPS.

    I'm imagining a better experience than LPVE, but nowhere near as fun as playing with a group of like-minded friends.

    It might be a good way to make Renown useful again (in order to get access to the Team-Ups), and it'd help a bit with immersion too. If I had Superman on speed dial, it'd make me feel more like a member of the Justice League. :D


    Yeah, it's been suggested a lot - I was probably even part of those conversations. But I was just talking to a friend who had returned to FFXI and as he described their Trust System, it made me realize just how fun something like that could be in DCUO, so I had to make a new thread. ;)
    • Like x 2
  9. Ringz Dedicated Player

    Basically the companion system.

    A thread mention this in '15 for the devs to introduce companions or at least A.I. controlled heroes for instances. Player suggested to revamp the renown system and turn it to where you gain the hero summon depending on the faction or be able to use your legend that correlates with the faction or role, that way legends and legend marks can be used into a two way system (their attempt at combining pve and pvp).

    Green name response in tldr format was: Cool idea. Not something we're looking into atm. We'll explore the idea soon. I would like to hear a update response about it.
    • Like x 4
  10. plumcrazy Well-Known Player

    Reward people for running lower level content
  11. 139 Masks Dedicated Player


    A player that has to sit in a queue for more than 15 minutes is a player that is likely to log out of the game.

    (An) AI(s) to fill the spot is pretty obvious fix. The behavior/programming of the AI so that it doesn't run the scenario for you/your group is really the issue.

    I would definitely, slot in ::
    Tanks :: Superman, Powergirl, Wonderwoman, Aquaman, Red Tornado, Captain Marvel, Firestorm,
    Controller :: Batman, Cyborg, Phantom Stranger, Green Lantern, Zatanna, Martian Manhunter, Booster Gold, Blue Beetle, Huntress
    Healer :: ?, Doctor Fate (?), Swamp Thing (?)
    Damage :: Green Arrow, Black Canary, Hawkman, Hawkgirl, Wildcat
    Iconic (wild card) :: Flash (contoller?), Atom (controller?), Elongated Man (tank?), Plastic Man (tank?),

    I add the Iconic (wild card) section as these characters generally don't fit into any of the 4 classes.
  12. The Doctor Time Lord Committed Player

    Yup. It comes up every so often and i think it's a great idea. I suspect there are resource/coding issues that would make it problematic or the DEVS would have implemented this clearly logical idea a long time ago. I think it should be limited though so that you could not use it for current content (say the previous 3 episodes) as you can still find real players for that more easily.

    Also I would tweak it so that you could add the one or two iconics to an instance for which you have a partial group assembled. Maybe you have 6/8 for Inner Batcave. You could, then add the two iconics that you need to fill out the party
    • Like x 2
  13. Reinheld Devil's Advocate

    I'm down with the idea in general, but it seems to bring up the same questions as adjustable queue size...negatively impacting the normal queues(as you mention) and lack of server resources for the added instances. Not that I'm saying those things would happen...or be more negative impacting than the fact that some content is unattainable sometimes...just that the same questions should come up logistically.

    I guess my other issues is that unless you make the NPC somehow programmable to be in 'feat' mode vs just 'get it run' mode, having a loose cannon NPC might do more harm than good if getting into a run for a feat was the goal. I mean if Supes is in AnB, will he go into a corner and stay there when we go for 4 corners feat, or will he want to proceed to the end and run the cog, as is the goal of that section of the mission? Will Lex Luthor sit idle while we wait for Carol Ferris to show up in LnW when trying for 'One Piece' feat, or because he's Lex...will he just jump in and attack WW as soon as it's an option, like in the Visitor Duo or PAN....that guy has no patience.

    Personally I don't think it would help get the old players in. Unless they make the NPCs super OP for the content, end game players will undoubtedly be waiting for the iconics to catch up or contribute. And since there is little rewards for end game players in old content, the biggest advantage to getting in is for feats...which as mentioned above an NPC might be more detriment than help. New players sure...it would help them get in, and yeah, they would get to rumble with the big boys/girls. That would be cool.

    Reinheld
    • Like x 1
  14. Drathmor Unwavering Player

    [IMG]
    • Like x 1
  15. topflow619 Well-Known Player

    This is actually a brilliant idea
  16. MrMigraine Devoted Player


    Yeah, I think there would be a lot of hurdles - several major programming overhauls would be needed.

    Your point about Feats is well-taken. I just figured that if you want a particularly tricky Feat, you'd rely on human people to screw it up. :p

    I guess I'm just looking for a fun way to address certain issues in the spirit of all of the work that the devs are doing for the New Game experience right now. Go big, or go home, right?