Champions Online Interview, Preview, and Screenshots

A fistful of new Champions Online content is now available, including an interview with Bill Roper on Gamesource, a hands-on preview on MMORPG.com, and five new screenshots on the official website. An excerpt from the interview:

GS: What do you think about the next wave of incoming sci-fi MMOs, like Earthrise, Star Trek Online, SWTOR, etc ? Will we see something really new in these ones or in Champion Online that we can consider as real next-gen or WoW will be on his throne for years ?

I think that the current and next wave of MMOs are looking to what they can bring to the table that will set them apart. Certainly breaking out of the fantasy genre is a big one. Things like massive customization is very big here at Cryptic allowing players to create iconic characters in an MMO.

The character creation system is incredibly deep, allowing players to have unprecedented amounts of customization. The creator not just gives players a massive amount of costume choices with configurable colour options, it also allows for a huge amount of body and facial morphology, as well as poses so that you can make heroes that look like tiny, winged fairies to giant, hulking brutes. These visual effects do not impact gameplay because we want players to be able to create the hero they envision.

Players can also do an amazing amount of customization with their powers. Many powers can have their emanation points changed, meaning that a force beam could not just come from a hero’s hands, but his eyes, or chest, as well. Players can also individually adjust the hue of every power in the game, which means that those force bolts can be blue or red or green or yellow or… you probably get the idea.

Every power also has sets of advantages that can be applied as the hero gains levels of experience. We chose not to implement a disadvantage system for powers, but since not every advantage can be gained for each power, there are definite choices to make.

Also we’re introducing the concept of user-generated content with our Nemesis system. Just as you can make the hero of your imagination, you can also create their arch-enemy their Nemesis. Using the same in-depth tools, the ultimate villain can be crafted by the player. And this isn’t just the costume and thematic power set, but also the personality and minions of your Nemesis. The ultimate challenge is the one you make for yourself.