Sorry it has taken me so long to post about Dragon*Con again this year. It was a hectic weekend. But a fun one. Unlike last year I got to see several celebrities, attend a live podcasting of Sword & Laser, see several Star Trek actors even if the lines were huge-- (Patrick Stewart, Leonard Nimoy, and William Shatner). Costuming was wild -- from steampunk Star Wars to Michael Jackson's glove -- practically anything was fair game.
Sunday featured three panels , one for each of the superhero role playing games. Of the publishers, only Sony showed up directly. The PAX effect strikes again, as may game publishers, electronic and otherwise, failed to show at Dragon*Con. Since all three sessions were FILLED TO CAPACITY more or less, I find the respect given to Dragon*Con a little lacking. PLEASE -- Cryptic? NCSoft? DON'T overlook us next year AGAIN. Even if you send just one person, it would be GREATLY appreciated.
First off was the fan panel for Champions. This was a discussion of several things that were likes/dislikes of the game. Several comments over the patch that made things more difficult after launch were made -- it clearly had mixed feelings. Most issues were with the interface and details of the game -- "How do you do...?" details. At the time, I'd not yet played the game, but it seems that it was beneficial for those that do. Their non-by-passable tutorial is not making any friends among the ALT happy Champions crowd.
Next up was City of Heroes -- The same person that ran the first fan panel recruited both myself and my friend as panelists -- Myself at the VERY last minute. After twelve years of Dragon*Cons -- this was a first. It seems that some swag was sent by NCSoft -- all Guild Wars.
- Issue 16 AND the Going Rogue expansions were high on everyones minds -- but no one really had any details to share. A few details were leaked out --Going Rogue will likely add a third starting zone to the game.
- PVE is still rated high by most players
- Of the audience over 40% seemed to be Mission Makers in AE. Farming was light -- but most of the "farmers" were using the rise in levels to bypass the under level 20 content that they've seen SO many times before.
- Endgame content still low.
- Content of missions old.
- Villain strike forces seem to have some holes in level coverage, resulting in several stretches of grinding. One comment that this brought up versus the grind is "That's WHY they are villains..."
- We want the return of the Cathedral of Pain!!!
- The recent T-shirt contest --- MANY attending there would love to have shirts with the winning designs and was wondering why they weren't being sold.
- Several supergroups were at the event as a group -- Cape Radio was represented, The Icons group from Victory, a Top 20 Infinity group, and a Freedom group were all noted. Several of the members were QUITE vocal.
- Chooch and Viv from the COH Podcast were in attendance as well -- The session was recorded and will likely be on their podcast shortly in some form or another.
Last up was DC Universe online. They showed several videos, all online. Most questions went unanswered, as it seems they are still early in their build, and a lot of issues hadn't been decided yet. I've my doubts about them -- When asked about copyright infringing "clone" characters, they commented that "we trust our players to make original concepts." After 5 years of Hulk, X-Men, Superman, clones and more, they've NO clue what they'll see on launch.
It was an exhausting weekend. Crowds were THICK. And to make matters worse I twisted my knee Saturday and it is still hurting. It slowed me down a LOT on Sunday. Fortunately that was mostly Sheraton/MMO track.
