Mission Architect: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 06:39, 6 December 2009

Overview

The Mission Architect, fictionally presented as a training exercise for Heroes and Villains, allows players to build their own missions and Story Arcs and share them with others in the game. Using a point-and-click interface and filling in the all the text of a mission, players can create story arcs of up to five separate missions by selecting options like size and type of the map, mission objectives, encounter types, and difficulty level of each encounter, as well as choosing the powers and costumes of some of the foes.

Player-created content has been internally talked about for a very long time, as evidenced by a post[1] by Jack Emmert in 2007:

I think player created content can be GREAT...if it's handled correctly.

... We've always talked about ways to get player material into the game...imagine using the base creator tools to make your own missions! Or a your own training room? Maybe some day we can figure a way to put this stuff into the game. The imagination just on these forums alone is so amazing; I can only hope we find a way an outlet for it.

And Issue 14 finally realized the dream.

Architect Entertainment
Hologram Contacts & Data Stream

Architect Entertainment
Data Stream & Ticket Vendor

The Company

Main Articles: Architect Entertainment, Architect Entertainment Buildings

Architect Entertainment is a company created by Dr. Thaddeus Aeon AQSA, with Crey Industries funding. For a description of the Mission Architect from the mad doctor himself, see: From the personal memoirs of Dr. Thaddeus Aeon AQSA

Most city zones have Architect Entertainment Buildings. Players can find them marked on their maps with an AE logo (there is an option on the mini-map that will toggle its visibility).

Create, Test, Publish, and Play

Players can have a maximum of eight arcs (three free and up to five purchased arc slots) per account. A published arc can contain up to five missions. All Architect missions are instanced, accessible through the Data Stream in the center of each building. While players are on an Architect mission, it is similar to being on a Task Force/Strike Force; other contacts are unavailable. However, unlike Task Forces, players may still be invited after the arc is started.

Missions can be level restricted, meaning players can be forced to sidekick or exemplar for the duration of a mission. The level restriction of each mission is separate; one mission might sidekick, the next could exemplar.

Missions are saved locally. There is an 'autosave' option, which overwrites itself every couple minutes with the arc's current data. If the player gives their arc a unique file name, the autosave option overwrites this file instead. WARNING: not giving an arc a unique file name and autosaving to the generic autosave file can cause loss of data if updating more than one arc. The newest save is always the current arc being worked on, so use unique file names. Due to being saved locally, story arcs can be edited offline as text files. The file structure takes a little getting used to, but it is fairly simple.

The Mission Architect allows players to create their own named bosses and foes, customizing their costumes, powers, and where and how they appear in the mission. Additionally, mission maps can be selected specifically (specifying the Freaklympics map) or by a randomized choice of a certain type of map (random choice from all abandoned warehouse maps). There are close to a thousand maps to choose from and more are being made available.

Those who play MA arcs get Ticket Rewards in place of drops (unless they are playing a Developer's Choice arc with normal rewards turned on), as well as influence and badges. Tickets can be used to buy a variety of items, such as enhancements and recipes, or unlockable content for mission creators, like signature villains or unique maps.

Mission Architect Guides

Ratings

All players can rate published missions from 1 to 5 stars, and leave a comment. As missions are played and more people positively rate them, the creator gains rewards such as Tickets and badges and possibly having their arcs designated Hall of Fame or Developer's Choice.

Additionally, players can leave comments for the author (sent as global tells) with suggestions or anything else.

Also while rating, players can also report arcs as inappropriate and give reasons why. Arcs with many reports will automatically be hidden from the search function until reviewed by a GM. Arcs that are banned take up a story arc slot until re-evaluated by a GM, which reduces the number of arc slots that player can use.

Rewards

Main Article: Ticket

Full experience (XP) and influence rewards will be granted for defeating enemies in player-made content.

However, in place of drops and end-of-mission XP bonuses, players earn Tickets. Players can take these Tickets to an Architect Ticket Vendor and redeem them for various in-game rewards, such as enhancements, recipes and salvage. Players will be able to purchase unlockable content with their tickets. They’ll be able to get maps, costume pieces and different characters.

Story Arcs promoted to Dev's Choice or Hall of Fame can offer standard rewards or ticket drops at the players discretion. Choosing standard rewards will treat the mission like developer content, dropping enhancements, recipes and salvage. Choosing Architect rewards will treat the mission like a regular Mission Architect story, and will only drop Architect Tickets. However, the end-of-mission XP bonus is still omitted, even if the player chooses standard rewards.

Restricted Rewards in MA

Only Architect Entertainment Badges can be obtained in Architect Entertainment missions. This means no critter defeats count for Defeat Badges, Achievement Badges do not increment, etc. Even if a Story Arc gets promoted to Dev's Choice or Hall of Fame, these badges are still unavailable through the Mission Architect missions.

The way the custom foes were designed and the limitation on arcs (like the inability to place foes exactly where one would like) are designed to prevent the Mission Architect from becoming a Power Leveling tool. Changes have been made several times to curb the use of exploits and bugs to gain extra rewards, including altering enemies to give different rewards within Architect versus without, changing or removing maps, and other ways.

Dev's Choice and Hall of Fame

There are two ways around the story arc limitation. Those ways are the Dev's Choice and Hall of Fame. These actually copy arcs onto the game servers and delete them from their published slot, freeing them.

Dev's choice simply means a dev liked it enough to save it. It's not canon, but they liked it!

Arcs enter the Hall of Fame when a large number of players rate an arc favorably.

Both of these are search options in the Architect menu.

Screenshot Gallery

Massively.com and Ten Ton Hammer screenshots
"Welcome to Architect Entertainment"
Mission Architect UI - First Screen
Mission Architect UI - Story Settings & Story Contact Settings
Mission Architect UI - Mission Settings
Mission Architect UI - Misson Settings 2
Mission Architect UI - Mission 1 Goals
Mission Architect UI - Basic and Advanced Mission Goals
Mission Architect UI - Mission Text
Mission Architect UI - Custom Boss Settings 1
Mission Architect UI - Custom Boss Settings 2
Mission Architect UI - Boss Settings 1
Mission Architect UI - Boss Settings 2
Mission Architect UI - Creating an Enemy Group
Mission Architect UI - Staging the Boss
Mission Architect UI - Boss Animations
AE - Exterior - Atlas
AE - Interior

History

This feature was announced by Positron on April 28th, 2008[2].

External Links

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 {{TOCright}}
-{{wip}}
 == Overview ==
+The '''Mission Architect''', fictionally presented as a training exercise for Heroes and Villains, allows players to build their own [[mission]]s and [[Story Arc]]s and share them with others in the game. Using a point-and-click interface and filling in the all the text of a mission, players can create story arcs of up to five separate missions by selecting options like size and type of the map, mission objectives, encounter types, and difficulty level of each encounter, as well as choosing the powers and costumes of some of the foes.
-The '''Mission Architect''', fictionally presented as a training exercise for Heroes and Villains, allows players to build their own Missions and Story Arcs and share them with others in the game. Using a point-and-click interface and filling in the all the text of a mission, players can create story arcs of up to five separate missions by selecting options like size and type of the map, mission objectives, encounter types, and difficulty level of each encounter, as well as choosing the powers and costumes of some of the foes.
 Player-created content has been internally talked about for a very long time, as evidenced by a post[http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showflat.php?Number=8320859#Post8320859] by [[Statesman (Developer)|Jack Emmert]] in 2007:
@@ Line 15: / Line 13: @@
 [[File:Holograms-2252009-1.jpg|300px|thumb|{{center|Architect Entertainment<br />Hologram Contacts & Data Stream}}]]
 [[File:Architect-entertainment-interior-2252009-2.jpg|300px|thumb|{{center|Architect Entertainment<br />Data Stream & Ticket Vendor}}]]
 == The Company ==
 :''Main Articles:'' [[Architect Entertainment]], [[Architect Entertainment Buildings]]
-''Architect Entertainment'' is a company created by [[Dr. Aeon|Dr. Thaddeus Aeon AQSA]], with [[Crey|Crey Industries]] funding. For a description of the Mission Architect from the mad doctor himself, see: [http://www.cityofheroes.com/news/paragon_journals/mission_architect.html From the personal memoirs of Dr. Thaddeus Aeon AQSA]
+''Architect Entertainment'' is a company created by [[Dr. Aeon|Dr. Thaddeus Aeon AQSA]], with [[Crey Industries]] funding. For a description of the Mission Architect from the mad doctor himself, see: [http://www.cityofheroes.com/news/paragon_journals/mission_architect.html From the personal memoirs of Dr. Thaddeus Aeon AQSA]
-Most city zones have [[Architect Entertainment Buildings]]. Players can find them marked on their maps with an [[AE]] logo (the drop down menu on the mini-maps toggle that icon on or off).
+Most city zones have [[Architect Entertainment Buildings]]. Players can find them marked on their maps with an [[AE]] logo (there is an option on the mini-map that will toggle its visibility).
 == Create, Test, Publish, and Play ==
+Players can have a maximum of eight arcs (three free and up to five purchased arc slots) per account. A published arc can contain up to five missions. All Architect missions are [[Instanced Map|instanced]], accessible through the Data Stream in the center of each building. While players are on an Architect mission, it is similar to being on a [[Task Force]]/[[Strike Force]]; other contacts are unavailable. However, unlike Task Forces, players may still be invited after the arc is started.
-Initially, Missions created remain on the player's computer for the author to test or play for their own enjoyment by themselves or with an invited team. Players can then publish their missions to the servers so that they are accessible by all players across all servers. A Mission Browser lets players find available missions and story arcs through a variety of tabs, sorts, and filters.
+Missions can be level restricted, meaning players can be forced to [[sidekick|sidekick or exemplar]] for the duration of a mission. The level restriction of each mission is separate; one mission might sidekick, the next could exemplar.
-All players can rate published missions. As missions are played and more people positively rate them, the creator gains rewards such as Tickets and badges and possibly having their arcs designated Hall of Fame or Developer's Choice.
+Missions are saved locally. There is an 'autosave' option, which overwrites itself every couple minutes with the arc's current data. If the player gives their arc a unique file name, the autosave option overwrites this file instead. {{red|WARNING:}} not giving an arc a unique file name and autosaving to the generic autosave file can cause loss of data if updating more than one arc. The newest save is always the current arc being worked on, so ''use unique file names''. Due to being saved locally, story arcs can be edited offline as text files. The file structure takes a little getting used to, but it is fairly simple.
-Those who play MA arcs get Ticket Rewards in place of drops as well as Influence and badges. Tickets can be used to buy a variety of items such as enhancements and recipes, or unlockable content for mission creators such as signature villains or unique maps.
+The Mission Architect allows players to create their own named bosses and foes, customizing their costumes, powers, and where and how they appear in the mission. Additionally, mission maps can be selected specifically (specifying the [[Marvin Weintraub#Crash the Freaklympics awards ceremony and arrest Mistah Static|''Freaklympics'']] map) or by a randomized choice of a certain type of map (random choice from all abandoned warehouse maps). There are close to a thousand maps to choose from and more are being made available.
-The Mission Architect will allow you to create your own named bosses and foes customizing their costumes, powers, and where and how they appear in the mission. There are close to a thousand maps to choose from and more are being made available.
+Those who play MA arcs get [[Ticket]] Rewards in place of drops (unless they are playing a [[Developer's Choice]] arc with normal rewards turned on), as well as influence and [[Architect Entertainment Badges|badges]]. Tickets can be used to buy a variety of items, such as enhancements and recipes, or unlockable content for mission creators, like signature villains or unique maps.
+=== Mission Architect Guides ===
+* [[Mission Architect Tutorial]]
+* [[Mission Architect Files]]
+* [[Mission Architect Custom Units]]
-== Missions and Arcs ==
-A published arc can contain up to five missions. All Architect missions will be instanced and not in an open zone. While you are on an Architect mission it will be similar to being on a Task/Strike Force in regards to other contacts being greyed out. However, unlike Task Forces, you are able to invite others to a MA arc after it has started.
+== Ratings ==
+All players can rate published missions from 1 to 5 stars, and leave a comment. As missions are played and more people positively rate them, the creator gains rewards such as Tickets and badges and possibly having their arcs designated Hall of Fame or Developer's Choice.
-You may well notice that your toon's level has changed while in the mission. Your level can shift in either direction and can even vary with each mission in the arc.
+Additionally, players can leave comments for the author (sent as [[Global Chat Handle|global]] [[tell (Slash Command)|tells]]) with suggestions or anything else.
-== Ratings ==
+Also while rating, players can also report arcs as inappropriate and give reasons why. Arcs with many reports will automatically be hidden from the search function until reviewed by a [[GM]]. Arcs that are banned take up a story arc slot until re-evaluated by a GM, which reduces the number of arc slots that player can use.
-After the published mission is complete, you can rate it from 1 to 5 stars and leave a comment (this can also be done before the Mission arc is completed), or report it as inappropriate and reasons why.
 == Rewards ==
@@ Line 56: / Line 56: @@
 === Restricted Rewards in MA ===
+Only [[Architect Entertainment Badges]] can be obtained in Architect Entertainment missions. This means no [[critter]] defeats count for [[Defeat Badges]], [[Achievement Badges]] do not increment, etc. Even if a Story Arc gets promoted to Dev's Choice or Hall of Fame, these badges are still unavailable through the Mission Architect missions.
-None of the Defeats badges are available in MA missions, so, e.g., you can't get the Kill Skuls badge for defeating Skulls in MA missions. Also the achievement badges of debt, influence, healing, being mezzed, etc... can not be earned in MA missions.  Even if a Story Arc gets promoted to Dev's Choice or Hall of Fame, these badges are still unavailable through the Mission Architect missions.
+The way the custom foes were designed and the limitation on arcs (like the inability to place foes exactly where one would like) are designed to prevent the Mission Architect from becoming a [[Power Level]]ing tool. Changes have been made several times to curb the use of [[exploit]]s and [[bug]]s to gain extra rewards, including altering enemies to give different rewards within Architect versus without, changing or removing maps, and other ways.
-The only badges that will be awarded are those [[Architect Entertainment Badges|badges tied to the Architect]] (including the Architect Day Job badges).
-The way the custom foes were designed and the limitation on arcs (like the inability to place foes exactly where one would like) are designed to prevent the Mission Architect from becoming a power leveling or farming tool.
-== Other information still to be ordered ==
+=== Dev's Choice and Hall of Fame ===
-{{wip}}
+There are two ways around the story arc limitation. Those ways are the Dev's Choice and Hall of Fame. These actually copy arcs onto the game servers and delete them from their published slot, freeing them.
-No cut-scenes will be possible with the Architect.
-Mission type and goals like glowie clicks or kill-alls are easy enough to understand. Turns out there is a link between enemies and level though, as enemies exist in various ranges and don't always scale out of those ranges well.
-Enemies and allies can be pretty much anything you can already fight somewhere in the game. At the time of Herocon, even Giant Monsters were available for use in Architect missions.
-Writing well is always a challenge, and this won't be any different. Players will be able to compose briefings, NPC dialogue, clues, debriefings, and souvenirs, just the same as the developpers!
-Saving is done to the local computer, and an unlimited number of missions can be saved. Missions can be edited offline, as the data is contained in a text file.
-Saved missions can be loaded for players teams. Suggested uses would be SG initiations or just for laughs.
-Players can only have three published story arcs (which can contain up to five missions each) per account, but can publish and unpublish at will.
-== Dev's Choice and Hall of Fame ==
-There are two ways around the three published per account limit, without buying more slots from the online store. Those ways are the Dev's Choice and Hall of Fame. These actually copy arcs onto the game servers and delete them from their published slot, freeing them.
 Dev's choice simply means a dev liked it enough to save it. It's not canon, but they liked it!
-You get a mission into the Hall of Fame when an as of yet unknown number of players rate it thumbs up.
+Arcs enter the Hall of Fame when a large number of players rate an arc favorably.
-Both of these will be search options in the Architect menu.
+Both of these are search options in the Architect menu.
-== Mission Architect Guides ==
-* [[Mission Architect Tutorial]]
-* [[Mission Architect Files]]
-* [[Mission Architect Custom Units]]
@@ Line 120: / Line 93: @@
 == History ==
 This feature was announced by [[Positron (Developer)|Positron]] on April 28th, 2008[http://www.cityofheroes.com/news/news_archive/a_message_from.html].
@@ Line 131: / Line 103: @@
 * [http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/64814 CoH Issue 14: Video Q&A with NCSoft's Joe Morrissey | Ten Ton Hammer]
 ** [http://tentonhammer.com/image/tid/1923 AE - UI Screens | Ten Ton Hammer]
-== References ==
-<references/>
 [[Category:Mission Architect]]

Mission Architect: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 06:39, 6 December 2009

Contents

Overview

The Company