Positron Will Determine Future Direction For City of Heroes

His real name is Matt Miller, but City Of Heroes fans know him better as Positron.  By either name, he is well known in the industry as a developer and a communicator. His career recently took a step forward: he’s now the lead developer for the CoX games at Cryptic Studios.

What about creative director Jack Emmert, the original brains behind the series? “CoH and CoV are still Jack [EmmertÂ’s] games, but he has entrusted me to lead the gamesÂ’ direction. IÂ’ve always wanted to make them more story driven and have worked for a long period to achieve that. While he still has his say, I now decide which systems and features we work on, how we implement them, which zones we create or rework and so on,” says Matt. He is determined to continue keeping the gaming community informed via forums and bulletin boards, however.

Now that Positron is in the driver’s seat, where will he be taking CoH and CoV? Changes that are forthcoming include a new system that will improve Level 50 characters – so players will spend more time on that level before advancing to 60. According to Matt, this will “allows us to create more room on the top.” This system, called “Enhancement Diversification,” give players “the fat loot,” making them stronger.

There’ll be some changes in how archvillains and monsters work, although the archenemy system has been delayed because of implementation issues. Matt hopes to have this in place in the next 12-18 months. There will also be some improvements in the veteran reward system, which will include base items, free respecs and temporal powers. “ThereÂ’s even a chance weÂ’ll see the beloved Christmas jet pack again,” adds Matt.

Issue 8 should be out sometime in September.

Via Boomtown.net

His real name is Matt Miller, but City Of Heroes fans know him better as Positron.  By either name, he is well known in the industry as a developer and a communicator. His career recently took a step forward: he’s now the lead developer for the CoX games at Cryptic Studios.

What about creative director Jack Emmert, the original brains behind the series? “CoH and CoV are still Jack [EmmertÂ’s] games, but he has entrusted me to lead the gamesÂ’ direction. IÂ’ve always wanted to make them more story driven and have worked for a long period to achieve that. While he still has his say, I now decide which systems and features we work on, how we implement them, which zones we create or rework and so on,” says Matt. He is determined to continue keeping the gaming community informed via forums and bulletin boards, however.

Now that Positron is in the driver’s seat, where will he be taking CoH and CoV? Changes that are forthcoming include a new system that will improve Level 50 characters – so players will spend more time on that level before advancing to 60. According to Matt, this will “allows us to create more room on the top.” This system, called “Enhancement Diversification,” give players “the fat loot,” making them stronger.

There’ll be some changes in how archvillains and monsters work, although the archenemy system has been delayed because of implementation issues. Matt hopes to have this in place in the next 12-18 months. There will also be some improvements in the veteran reward system, which will include base items, free respecs and temporal powers. “ThereÂ’s even a chance weÂ’ll see the beloved Christmas jet pack again,” adds Matt.

Issue 8 should be out sometime in September.

Via Boomtown.net