DC Universe Online Trailer - 6 minutes, Vol. Screw the game, make this a full length movie..

[cidman911]

Originally Posted by RFX45



 On the lighter side of things, the developers would really love to include a feat for stealing 40 cakes from Lex Luthor, but it isn't yet in the game.

 

[thehype]

LOL @ "You're like the richest man in Metropolis..." 

 

[thehype]

LOL @ "You're like the richest man in Metropolis..." 

 

[omgitswes]

I want to read more on Black Adam, he looks mad interesting. Where should I start?
Captain Marvel has been around for decades, so I'm just looking for a good story line to start out with.

Speaking of Captain Marvel, I didn't see him in the trailer

 

[omgitswes]

I want to read more on Black Adam, he looks mad interesting. Where should I start?
Captain Marvel has been around for decades, so I'm just looking for a good story line to start out with.

Speaking of Captain Marvel, I didn't see him in the trailer

 

[rfx45]

 

[rfx45]

 

[daffy 016]

the trailer was mad dope.... i doubt a lot of ppl will get it though i used to be undefeated in Mortal Kombat vs DC for 360

 

[daffy 016]

the trailer was mad dope.... i doubt a lot of ppl will get it though i used to be undefeated in Mortal Kombat vs DC for 360

 

[uncalled4boy]

That Mattered!

 

[uncalled4boy]

That Mattered!

 

[quktic]

For people thinking about pre-ordering the game here's a list:

- GameStop: Play as Batman in an exclusive two-on-two battle arena; DCUO: legends Issue #0; Joker’s confetti bomb item

- Amazon: Play as Batman in an exclusive two-on-two battle arena; Amazonian Gauntlets item

- GoGamer: Play as Batman in an exclusive two-on-two battle arena; DeathStroke’s Draw item

- Walmart: Play as Batman in an exclusive two-on-two battle arena; Joker’s trick pistol

- Target: Play as Batman in an exclusive two-on-two battle arena; Lexcorp Kryptonite Blaster

- Fry’s: Play as Batman in an exclusive two-on-two battle arena; DCUO: legends Issue #0; Scarecrow’s Screamer pistol

- Direct 2 Drive: Play as Batman in an exclusive two-on-two battle arena; Mr. Freeze’s Zero Grenade

- Steam: Play as Batman in an exclusive two-on-two battle arena; Bane’s Venom Injector.

~

 

[quktic]

For people thinking about pre-ordering the game here's a list:

- GameStop: Play as Batman in an exclusive two-on-two battle arena; DCUO: legends Issue #0; Joker’s confetti bomb item

- Amazon: Play as Batman in an exclusive two-on-two battle arena; Amazonian Gauntlets item

- GoGamer: Play as Batman in an exclusive two-on-two battle arena; DeathStroke’s Draw item

- Walmart: Play as Batman in an exclusive two-on-two battle arena; Joker’s trick pistol

- Target: Play as Batman in an exclusive two-on-two battle arena; Lexcorp Kryptonite Blaster

- Fry’s: Play as Batman in an exclusive two-on-two battle arena; DCUO: legends Issue #0; Scarecrow’s Screamer pistol

- Direct 2 Drive: Play as Batman in an exclusive two-on-two battle arena; Mr. Freeze’s Zero Grenade

- Steam: Play as Batman in an exclusive two-on-two battle arena; Bane’s Venom Injector.

~

 

[rfx45]

There is also a collectors edition for the PC for a $100 and has more free stuff if pre-ordered.

PS3 cover

 

[rfx45]

There is also a collectors edition for the PC for a $100 and has more free stuff if pre-ordered.

PS3 cover

 

[rfx45]

CAO & YANAGI ON THE STORY OF "DC UNIVERSE ONLINE"

Sony Online Entertainment and DC Entertainment's "DC Universe Online" had a strong presence at this year's Comic-Con International in San Diego. Not only did fans have another chance to get their hands on a demo of the upcoming massively multiplayer online game, but they also got a peek at the storyline of "DCUO" via a six-minute trailer that debuted during the "DCUO" panel. The teaser revealed that the story in "DCUO" involves Lex Luthor finally getting the victory over Superman he spent his whole life pursuing, only to have his moment of glory stolen from him by Brainiac, who has a much bigger plan in mind. Lex is then forced to travel back in time in order to ally himself with his greatest enemies in an attempt to prevent Brainiac's complete domination of Earth.

As fans eagerly await the start of the "DCUO" beta, CBR once again checked in with the team behind the game. Senior Producer Wes Yanagi and Game Designer Chris Cao spoke with CBR this week about the story in "DC Universe Online," as well as some of the other information that came out of Comic-Con International.

CBR News: Chris, during the "DC Universe Online" panel at Comic-Con International, fans got a glimpse into the backstory of "DCUO." Can you give us more of an overview of the main story?

Chris Cao: The backstory of "DC Universe Online" is the backstory of the players themselves. It is the story of their genesis, their journey, and ultimately, their rise to join the legendary ranks of the DCU itself.

It begins, as comic stories often do, in the future. The iconic heroes and villains have been driven into a final confrontation with one another. It is all out war. No ground is given and even the most famous or powerful characters fall victim to the fight. In the ultimate example of this confrontation, Lex Luthor faces off against Superman - and wins! In that moment, Brainiac arrives with an immense invasion force. Luthor realizes that Brainiac had masterminded the conflict so that the planet would be open to attack.

Rather than try and battle Brainiac, Lex serves him, aiding the alien in his plans to bottle and absorb Earth and thus the inter-dimensional nexus it represents. As Brainiac finishes his plans, Lex looks for any hope of escape. He finds the key to both his own salvation and Brainiac’s demise in the alien’s immense cache of technology. Lex puts together a device that will allow him to travel in time. Just before Brainiac realizes what’s happening, Lex grabs the exobytes, the stored knowledge and power of all that Brainiac has collected, and escapes to the past.

He arrives on scene to see the seeds of Brainiac’s plans already in place. Working quickly, he contacts the heroes of Earth and tells them of the future that is to be. Then, without warning, he releases the exobytes into Earth's atmosphere. The exobytes descend through the atmosphere, targeting hapless humans of every walk of life and downloading the powers and knowledge Brainiac had stolen. Suddenly, millions of new super heroes and villains emerge. Brainiac is caught off guard and is forced to accelerate his invasion.

As the game begins, Brainiac is assaulting Earth and trying to recover the dispersed exobytes. Since they are the sum total of all future knowledge and power, they represent a short cut to all that Brainiac had planned. But the heroes and villains of Earth now know of the danger. They reach out to the newly created super beings and seek to train, or coerce, them into fighting for their cause.

The final result, as ever, is in the players’ hands.

What do you feel "DC Universe Online" is doing with its story that sets it apart from most MMOs?

Cao: "DC Universe Online" is unique in that players will be able to live their own story of heroism or villainy, alongside some of the most iconic characters and locations in pop culture history, something that’s not available in current MMO games.

You confirmed the subscription model for "DCUO" at Comic-Con as well ($14.99 per month). Why did you feel the standard monthly subscription model was the best fit for "DCUO" as opposed to some of the other models we're seeing right now?

Cao: "DCUO" will be a combination of both monthly subscription and microtransaction for certain items. Keep in mind that "DCUO" is a dynamic experience, with content being added on a monthly basis. Along with expansions, this content will expand and evolve the storyline, providing the player community with new experiences and things to consume and enjoy.

Wes, the last time we spoke about "DCUO," cross-platform play between the PC and PS3 was still in question. Has there been a decision reached on that issue?

Wes Yanagi: Each platform has been optimized separately for the best and most balanced experience, so PC players play with PC players and PS3 players will play with PS3 players.

There were a lot of rumors flying around that PlayStation Plus subscribers would not have to pay a subscription fee to play "DCUO" on the PS3, which turned out to be untrue. Just to clarify, there is no difference in subscription options for Plus subscribers, right?

Yanagi: The two aren’t related; there aren’t any plans at this time to include "DCUO" in the PlayStation Plus service.

Have you discussed whether or not PlayStation Plus subscribers would gain automatic access to the "DCUO" beta?

Yanagi: At this time, there are no plans for that.

How much of the game will beta players have access to? Are there particular areas of the game universe and story the beta will be focused on?

Yanagi: Beta players will have access to all the major facets of the game, from character creation, hero and villain, to solo and group missions to fast and furious player vs. player arenas. There is a ton of content in the game, and we are looking forward to seeing how our beta players progress through it all.

At this point in the development of "DCUO," what information are you looking for from the beta testing?

Yanagi: Every aspect is open to feedback but, we’re particularly interested in messaging, balance, egregious bugs and exploits. We’re focusing on key issues that we can work on and improve to make the game better.

Do you have any more details to share on the "DC Universe Online: Legends" comic that will tie into the game?

Yanagi: The comic builds on the events set in motion by the story from the trailer. Think of it as establishing the state of the world for the player from a story perspective and providing a solid foundation for the game’s storylines to grow on.

Is there a chance that players' actions in "DCUO" could be reflected in the "DC Universe Online: Legends" book? Could a character designed by a player make a cameo at some point?

Yanagi: That’s definitely a possibility and one of the exciting aspects of this initiative. How cool would it be to raise your character to an epic level of fame or notoriety and then have him immortalized in the pages of a comic book?

Finally, in addition to great gameplay, a big factor in an MMO's longevity is the community it builds and maintains around the game. What sort of community features are built into "DCUO," and how do you plan to maintain a strong community of fans once the game launches?

Yanagi: Initially, we’ll have all the standard community features you’d expect in an MMO. At the same time, however, this is new type of game, and on the PS3 platform, a new community of players. As the game matures, we’ll continue to build and refine features based on player feedback to support growth of the community.

 

[rfx45]

CAO & YANAGI ON THE STORY OF "DC UNIVERSE ONLINE"

Sony Online Entertainment and DC Entertainment's "DC Universe Online" had a strong presence at this year's Comic-Con International in San Diego. Not only did fans have another chance to get their hands on a demo of the upcoming massively multiplayer online game, but they also got a peek at the storyline of "DCUO" via a six-minute trailer that debuted during the "DCUO" panel. The teaser revealed that the story in "DCUO" involves Lex Luthor finally getting the victory over Superman he spent his whole life pursuing, only to have his moment of glory stolen from him by Brainiac, who has a much bigger plan in mind. Lex is then forced to travel back in time in order to ally himself with his greatest enemies in an attempt to prevent Brainiac's complete domination of Earth.

As fans eagerly await the start of the "DCUO" beta, CBR once again checked in with the team behind the game. Senior Producer Wes Yanagi and Game Designer Chris Cao spoke with CBR this week about the story in "DC Universe Online," as well as some of the other information that came out of Comic-Con International.

CBR News: Chris, during the "DC Universe Online" panel at Comic-Con International, fans got a glimpse into the backstory of "DCUO." Can you give us more of an overview of the main story?

Chris Cao: The backstory of "DC Universe Online" is the backstory of the players themselves. It is the story of their genesis, their journey, and ultimately, their rise to join the legendary ranks of the DCU itself.

It begins, as comic stories often do, in the future. The iconic heroes and villains have been driven into a final confrontation with one another. It is all out war. No ground is given and even the most famous or powerful characters fall victim to the fight. In the ultimate example of this confrontation, Lex Luthor faces off against Superman - and wins! In that moment, Brainiac arrives with an immense invasion force. Luthor realizes that Brainiac had masterminded the conflict so that the planet would be open to attack.

Rather than try and battle Brainiac, Lex serves him, aiding the alien in his plans to bottle and absorb Earth and thus the inter-dimensional nexus it represents. As Brainiac finishes his plans, Lex looks for any hope of escape. He finds the key to both his own salvation and Brainiac’s demise in the alien’s immense cache of technology. Lex puts together a device that will allow him to travel in time. Just before Brainiac realizes what’s happening, Lex grabs the exobytes, the stored knowledge and power of all that Brainiac has collected, and escapes to the past.

He arrives on scene to see the seeds of Brainiac’s plans already in place. Working quickly, he contacts the heroes of Earth and tells them of the future that is to be. Then, without warning, he releases the exobytes into Earth's atmosphere. The exobytes descend through the atmosphere, targeting hapless humans of every walk of life and downloading the powers and knowledge Brainiac had stolen. Suddenly, millions of new super heroes and villains emerge. Brainiac is caught off guard and is forced to accelerate his invasion.

As the game begins, Brainiac is assaulting Earth and trying to recover the dispersed exobytes. Since they are the sum total of all future knowledge and power, they represent a short cut to all that Brainiac had planned. But the heroes and villains of Earth now know of the danger. They reach out to the newly created super beings and seek to train, or coerce, them into fighting for their cause.

The final result, as ever, is in the players’ hands.

What do you feel "DC Universe Online" is doing with its story that sets it apart from most MMOs?

Cao: "DC Universe Online" is unique in that players will be able to live their own story of heroism or villainy, alongside some of the most iconic characters and locations in pop culture history, something that’s not available in current MMO games.

You confirmed the subscription model for "DCUO" at Comic-Con as well ($14.99 per month). Why did you feel the standard monthly subscription model was the best fit for "DCUO" as opposed to some of the other models we're seeing right now?

Cao: "DCUO" will be a combination of both monthly subscription and microtransaction for certain items. Keep in mind that "DCUO" is a dynamic experience, with content being added on a monthly basis. Along with expansions, this content will expand and evolve the storyline, providing the player community with new experiences and things to consume and enjoy.

Wes, the last time we spoke about "DCUO," cross-platform play between the PC and PS3 was still in question. Has there been a decision reached on that issue?

Wes Yanagi: Each platform has been optimized separately for the best and most balanced experience, so PC players play with PC players and PS3 players will play with PS3 players.

There were a lot of rumors flying around that PlayStation Plus subscribers would not have to pay a subscription fee to play "DCUO" on the PS3, which turned out to be untrue. Just to clarify, there is no difference in subscription options for Plus subscribers, right?

Yanagi: The two aren’t related; there aren’t any plans at this time to include "DCUO" in the PlayStation Plus service.

Have you discussed whether or not PlayStation Plus subscribers would gain automatic access to the "DCUO" beta?

Yanagi: At this time, there are no plans for that.

How much of the game will beta players have access to? Are there particular areas of the game universe and story the beta will be focused on?

Yanagi: Beta players will have access to all the major facets of the game, from character creation, hero and villain, to solo and group missions to fast and furious player vs. player arenas. There is a ton of content in the game, and we are looking forward to seeing how our beta players progress through it all.

At this point in the development of "DCUO," what information are you looking for from the beta testing?

Yanagi: Every aspect is open to feedback but, we’re particularly interested in messaging, balance, egregious bugs and exploits. We’re focusing on key issues that we can work on and improve to make the game better.

Do you have any more details to share on the "DC Universe Online: Legends" comic that will tie into the game?

Yanagi: The comic builds on the events set in motion by the story from the trailer. Think of it as establishing the state of the world for the player from a story perspective and providing a solid foundation for the game’s storylines to grow on.

Is there a chance that players' actions in "DCUO" could be reflected in the "DC Universe Online: Legends" book? Could a character designed by a player make a cameo at some point?

Yanagi: That’s definitely a possibility and one of the exciting aspects of this initiative. How cool would it be to raise your character to an epic level of fame or notoriety and then have him immortalized in the pages of a comic book?

Finally, in addition to great gameplay, a big factor in an MMO's longevity is the community it builds and maintains around the game. What sort of community features are built into "DCUO," and how do you plan to maintain a strong community of fans once the game launches?

Yanagi: Initially, we’ll have all the standard community features you’d expect in an MMO. At the same time, however, this is new type of game, and on the PS3 platform, a new community of players. As the game matures, we’ll continue to build and refine features based on player feedback to support growth of the community.

 

[rfx45]

 

[rfx45]

 

[rfx45]

Exclusive Interview: DCUO's Game Director Chris Cao

What gamer hasn't wanted to be a superhero at one time or another? Superheroes and comic books have been a part of gaming culture as long as computers. Of course, everyone has wanted to be Superman soaring through the skies of Metropolis, or Batman scaring the pants off the criminal underworld of Gotham City. Sony Online Entertainment has teamed up with Warner Bros. and DC Comics to bring this world -- nay, this universe -- to life. On November 2nd, DC Universe Online will blast its way to game store shelves everywhere.

DCUO gives fans of comic books, action video games, and MMOs a reason to come together and celebrate this incredible amalgam of genres. Create your own superhero! Thrill to the art of Jim Lee! Soak up the voice-acting of Mark Hamill and Kevin Conroy! On top of that, if you preorder this deliciously intense action RPG, you will have exclusive rights to a token that will allow you to join a 2v2 PvP arena as the caped crusader himself, using his abilities, gadgets, and fighting style. Plus you'll get all the other preorder bonuses like confetti bombs and batarangs.

Massively snagged an exclusive interview with DCUO Game Director Chris Cao about this groundbreaking game. Up, up, and away! (OK, that was cheesy. Just hit "read more" to read our lengthy interview after the break!)

What do Metropolis and Gotham City mean to DC Universe Online?

When doing DC Universe, what's going to be the core of it? Well, it's going to be these two cities, because they're characters in and of themselves: the dark, moody one, and the bright, shiny, optimistic one. They have to hold the stuff you have to do in the game, but they've got to be more than that. They have to be convincing cities in and of themselves. So we knew they had to be big. We knew they had to be full of life. We knew they had to provide far more than the content itself. There had to be a sense that I'm in Metropolis, and that it's a real place.

Metropolis is over 900 square blocks; it's eight or ten square kilometers. It's an immense thing, but often numbers are thrown around in MMOs to say, "Hey, we're big." Well, we're not just big; we're very rich. We have in Metropolis alone over 45 points of interest that are big ol' buildings like the Daily Planet, the S.T.A.R. Labs complex, the Science Spire, the Ace O'Clubs, and the list just goes on and on. They've been in the comics so obviously they need to be in Metropolis.

What we did was we build all that and then add some systems to feel like it's really going on. Obviously, we have pedestrians and traffic. Ours is a bit different in that regard because [the game] has a full-on physics simulation. If you have super strength, you're going to be picking cars up and throwing [them] around. We did [all this] not because it's cool as a technical challenge but because, in a city were Superman is, you have to be able to pick stuff up, throw it around, and smash it. So we have all sorts of destructible objects in there, all sorts of physics objects. It's not just a bunch of buildings; it's a bunch of buildings that can get smashed. And on top of that, we've added three systems that really fill out the life feel of it.

The first one is a very subtle system. It's called Sighting. Throughout the city as you're climbing up buildings [or] flying through the sky, you [might] see an iconic as they go about their business. So, you might just be crawling up a building in Gotham and see the Dark Knight crouched on a gargoyle. Or you might be going through Metropolis and see Sup streak by. And they'll throw you a VO line or react to you and then be off about their business. [It's] nothing too immense -- just a little bit of DC there to remind you that you're there and what's going on.

It helps with the immersion.

Exactly. We have lots of content that we can talk about specifically where you're fighting alongside Batman. Or like in the first episode, you're defeating Scarecrow's minions and you're in the thick of it, right? If you're in the content, you're well-wrapped in the story and hip-deep in that illusion. But if you're out in the city, it's got to support believability on its own. And that's what that sort of Sighting system does.

The second thing we have are the Incidental Encounters. We call them the random acts of kindness or chaos. These are little vignettes that are around the city that don't have anything to do with any given piece of content, but they're still around to build that sense of life. So, this is were you would have [a] mugging. As a hero, you can go stop it. Or as a villain, you can go beat up both the mugger and the muggee. Instead of being on every street corner, thieves show up every once in a while to surprise you as you're moving through the city, to catch your eye and get you involved. And you can actually get unique clues and investigation items off these various encounters. There [are] actually some pretty cool ones. There's this saboteur on top of a building who's hacking in to wherever there [are] big satellite dishes. And as a hero you can go up there and beat him up and stop him from doing that . The cost is that you get a little VO line and little clue snippets to some of the communications between some of the bad guys. Or as a bad guy you can actually convince him to give you the control, and you use it [to] crash the satellite in the city. There's a cool [vignette] camera that will watch the satellite come down and crash into it. We have [these vignettes] littered throughout the game as sort of a Where's Waldo hunt where he can show up lots of places. It's those little touches that keep things going.

The last system we have is really meant to give you the sense of this rich, deep city. We have a series of exploration quests [for when] you're tired of fighting or just want to get deep in the DC lore. We have Booster Gold, who is this [smarmy], chill, NASCAR superhero. He actually wears the stickers of sponsors, so he's the ultimate sell-out. We use him as the tour guide [for] Booster Gold Tours Metropolis, [with] little kiosks that are conveniently placed [by] safehouses. If you go and take that tour, it will actually let you go to key areas like Crime Alley where Bruce Wayne's parents were murdered, or the Daily Planet, which is actually under duress here because of Brainiac's attacks -- [places] that really matter in the DC Universe. There's a cool cam that actually rotates around, telling you in Booster Gold's voice about any point of interest. You can just go, do these, and explore.

We have exploration everywhere. You get feats or accomplishments for actually going and discovering the whole rest of the world, to keep you grounded in the DC Universe. [One] random one is going to Big Belly Burgers, which are strewn throughout the city. I don't want to call it an Easter egg, but it's more of an immersion thing. You can go up to the food-ordering place, and it actually has a funny line with the guy inside pretending like you're ordering food at the drive-through -- dozen and dozens of those little touches.

It is Metropolis. This the first time that people can actually fight, talk to each other, and socialize in the Golden City or in Gotham. Always before, it just served one story. Here, it's a world. And it's up to the players and what they're going to do in it. So it's pretty cool that we are able to make it that robust as well as full of content.

I'm really excited about DCUO because it's a known universe and people actually get to live in it. What kind of things would you say (besides the IP) will draw somebody to DCUO over some of the other games that are out there?

What we've tried to do is religiously translate anything and everything and everyone that's cool in the DC Universe and just bring it online, so that you can experience it from your couch or from your computer. That's really the goal of it. That's the heart of it. Every other game might be able to provide you the underwear-on-the-outside kind of superhero with that generic superhero sort of feel to it. They do it from the MMO-side of experience. Which is fine; I'm not one to knock anyone's product here. I really like those things for what they are, but they are very clearly MMOs with capes. What we are really after is the best superhero experience we can give you. We feel that the best one is [one in which] you get to make your own superhero or villain in a known universe. It might be cool in another game to test your strength against random badguy X, but what's it like when you're fighting the Joker or the Batman? When you're a superhero and you can gauge yourself against that -- when you fight Robin or Harley and you beat them -- you say, "I did that." It tells you where you are on the superhero scale of things.

You mentioned something about buckets of powers and how they relate to existing characters in the DC Universe. What types of powersets or buckets of powers do you have available for the player?

Well we aren't going into all the details just yet. In fact, this week we found some things that [made us] fundamentally change the way some powers work. We are actually going to [give a list of powers] once we are pretty certain that they aren't going to radically change. But as far as the actual power types... we have ice, we have fire, we have mental. We have gadgets, which [has] kind of a Batman-approach to it. We have nature, which includes in it shape-shifting as well as a sort of Poison Ivy-approach. We have sorcery, which has magic and summoning in it. So each of those gives sort of a foundational set of buckets. The big thing that we are still working on and debating is light. Right now we want to make sure we have a quality experience on the ones we've chosen. It's sort of deceptive that there's those six buckets, because actually each has two major trees in it. Nature has healing and shape-shifting in it, and there's dozens of powers in there. Everybody can choose from an iconic powers list like heat vision or super strength. We have literally hundreds of powers in there. What we've tried to do is concentrate the coolness and make sure that each one of those really has action-game-awesome to it as well as DC-awesome to it. And again the action-physics-MMO tactical-nature to it.

What are you looking for in standard stats, like strength, agility, intellect? How exactly are you going about it as far as equipment is concerned?

Well, I think I'd like to do full justice to that and describe it all the way through. We do have stats on items and stats are linked to all the typical things you would expect. Think of it more as an action-game MMO-hybrid. Some [stats] are to your powers; some are to your weapons; some are to your movements. Each of the fundamental character choices you make kind of drives it. You see what I'm saying versus a fantasy game set-up? But I'd really like to do full justice to it -- break it down actual in detail -- rather than try to do it right now. I want to make sure everybody understands what the stats are and why they [work the way they do].

Massively: How would you describe how gameplay works? We talked about how it's going to be on the PS3 as well as the PC. How are the mechanics of that going to differ?

What we've tried to do is to really get one experience as much as possible. All your actions are immediate. You don't have a timeout. You click the mouse button and you punch or you shoot. This is a little bit different especially for MMO players. You have auto-attack, and you have the power that you layer on top of it. Well, imagine you took the auto-attack and you broke it into action-game combos. The way to think about it is there are three major portions of combat: how you move, what weapon you use, and what your powers are. Each of those contributes to combat.

Your weapon is the combos you have. So literally clicking combos does more damage and other effects. You can throw guys up in the air; you can knock them down; you can spin them around; and you can flip them over. So it can get you a lot of tactical and practical twitchy-feel to the attack.

Your power tray is more like your normal MMO. It gives you the powers that you execute on top of that -- the grapple line that pulls people in; the punching glove that knocks them back. It gives you specific powers that you can load out.

In simplistic terms, it gives you both combat combos you can do and tray powers you can do. The combination of those things is what you build your character from. So guys that made the same weapon choice can be radically different in the combat. Think of it as an MMO with an action game there for the moment-to-moment. You have the tactical depth that you get out of an MMO, but the frantic pace you get out of an action game.

So if you have two different players with the same build, you could have a totally different fighting style because of the mechanics of the game?

You can have two different nature guys because they chose different trees. Or you can have two different nature guys because they chose different weapons. Or you can have two different nature guys because they chose different movements. So it is essentially a class-based system -- each power has roles to it, and then you multiply all that times iconic powers, so that if you want super strength or heat vision, that will mix it up even more. [It's] the little spice on the top that DC makes different.

What about the leveling system -- what it is like and how will it play out in game?

That's very interesting because I just changed when you level in the tutorial this morning. Pacing is everything in a game and especially in an MMO, right? You don't want to have empty levels. So we're actually still changing the number of levels and distribution of them. We are taking the approach of this-is-your-hero's-journey. How do we give you an experience where you go from zero to hero? First, you're no one. Then, you're like Robin. Then, you're sort of a Nightwing-level. Then finally you're cool enough to where Batman himself is asking for your help. Although we haven't announced numbers or talked about them, what we are doing is going into beta and adjusting that pacing. So when you get to the endgame, it matters. I've got to be honest -- the journey has to be juicy, right? It has to be delicious. You don't want that journey to be the obstacle to the cool. You go to a game because you want to be a superhero or you want to be a fantasy warrior or a sci-fi guy, right? You want to go there to live and breathe and have that experience. We're going to keep tuning [levels] in beta. We're going to keep adjusting so that when you go through it, you go, "Man, that was tremendous. I really felt like a hero," or "I really felt bad and evil when I was doing it. And now I've earned enough fame or infamy that the Justice League or the Society itself is asking me to help them out in all these endgame endeavors, including raiding the Batcave itself." I mean come on. Do you want to level or do you want to raid the Batcave? Leveling is important to set the tone, but ultimately what you do when you achieve that pinnacle [is key]. You want to become that legend, then you want to grow it through that endgame. That's really the focus we're on.

I'm interested to know about hubs and places for people to meet up and socialize. What kinds of places will you find in Gotham or Metropolis that cater to roleplaying?

When you're not speeding around, you've got to have a place to slow down. Our game is fast and furious just like superheroes, so we have what we call safehouses. Those are basically sprinkled throughout the city. The villains have various clubs, like Club Lex which is obviously owned by Lex Luthor. That's where people can go and hang out. It's sort of a cool night club with low lighting, music thumping, people dancing, and various criminal activities going on in the corners. Then the heroes -- the goodie-two-shoes guys -- go to the police stations. Each of the police stations has a different theme in it (although the ones in Gotham are a little seedier and more troublesome). Those are there immediately, if you want to get out of the fray and hang out, go to the vendor, repair your stuff, talk to people, send mail, and all the rest of the basics.

If you want to get into the big social scene -- where are things going on, where are the armies massing themselves, where are the heroes and the villains getting together to face off? -- that's what we call HQs (headquarters). That's the JLA Watchtower and the Hall of Doom. Those are huge cities that players can use that have all the supplies, all the training, the banks, everything else in there. That's basically where the main social action goes on, including racing each other around the cities. It's pretty fun. There is stuff to do in the cities, not just walking around.

Is that where the PvP arenas are?

Actually, we have a fun-now-no-waiting thing, so you can queue right from your PDA (your JLA communicator) if you want to. But we've actually grounded it into the DC, again. There's the Kryptonian Enclave in the Watchtower, which actually has Supergirl there, and she has all the stuff that Superman awards to the people he mentors, including a House of El war suit (like epic raid gear) that he gives out, as well as missions and set dressing. There's also a Bat-family enclave there, too. Each of these areas punches up the DC universe and reinforces it. For the races, there's Flash in the Watchtower. He's the mentor of anybody who wants to race. Think of [them] as little touchstones of all the activities that you can do on-demand at any time in the game.

Do you have set-up PvP and PvE servers independent from each other?

It will be your classic Red and Blue servers with RP servers as well, I guess. I'm not sure if that's Green or what it is. If you're on Blue, you can't get attacked except where PvP is sanctioned, like an arena. If you're on a Red server, it's a free world -- rip the other guys up. Actually, John Smedley and a whole bunch of the other guys in San Diego were beating on all of us here in Austin. We had a fight around Metro-General Hospital yesterday that was like over 150 people all thrashing each other. It was literally nuts, but that's open-world PvP for you, right? It has that, and it has some rules against spawn camping and all those sorts of things.

 

[rfx45]

Exclusive Interview: DCUO's Game Director Chris Cao

What gamer hasn't wanted to be a superhero at one time or another? Superheroes and comic books have been a part of gaming culture as long as computers. Of course, everyone has wanted to be Superman soaring through the skies of Metropolis, or Batman scaring the pants off the criminal underworld of Gotham City. Sony Online Entertainment has teamed up with Warner Bros. and DC Comics to bring this world -- nay, this universe -- to life. On November 2nd, DC Universe Online will blast its way to game store shelves everywhere.

DCUO gives fans of comic books, action video games, and MMOs a reason to come together and celebrate this incredible amalgam of genres. Create your own superhero! Thrill to the art of Jim Lee! Soak up the voice-acting of Mark Hamill and Kevin Conroy! On top of that, if you preorder this deliciously intense action RPG, you will have exclusive rights to a token that will allow you to join a 2v2 PvP arena as the caped crusader himself, using his abilities, gadgets, and fighting style. Plus you'll get all the other preorder bonuses like confetti bombs and batarangs.

Massively snagged an exclusive interview with DCUO Game Director Chris Cao about this groundbreaking game. Up, up, and away! (OK, that was cheesy. Just hit "read more" to read our lengthy interview after the break!)

What do Metropolis and Gotham City mean to DC Universe Online?

When doing DC Universe, what's going to be the core of it? Well, it's going to be these two cities, because they're characters in and of themselves: the dark, moody one, and the bright, shiny, optimistic one. They have to hold the stuff you have to do in the game, but they've got to be more than that. They have to be convincing cities in and of themselves. So we knew they had to be big. We knew they had to be full of life. We knew they had to provide far more than the content itself. There had to be a sense that I'm in Metropolis, and that it's a real place.

Metropolis is over 900 square blocks; it's eight or ten square kilometers. It's an immense thing, but often numbers are thrown around in MMOs to say, "Hey, we're big." Well, we're not just big; we're very rich. We have in Metropolis alone over 45 points of interest that are big ol' buildings like the Daily Planet, the S.T.A.R. Labs complex, the Science Spire, the Ace O'Clubs, and the list just goes on and on. They've been in the comics so obviously they need to be in Metropolis.

What we did was we build all that and then add some systems to feel like it's really going on. Obviously, we have pedestrians and traffic. Ours is a bit different in that regard because [the game] has a full-on physics simulation. If you have super strength, you're going to be picking cars up and throwing [them] around. We did [all this] not because it's cool as a technical challenge but because, in a city were Superman is, you have to be able to pick stuff up, throw it around, and smash it. So we have all sorts of destructible objects in there, all sorts of physics objects. It's not just a bunch of buildings; it's a bunch of buildings that can get smashed. And on top of that, we've added three systems that really fill out the life feel of it.

The first one is a very subtle system. It's called Sighting. Throughout the city as you're climbing up buildings [or] flying through the sky, you [might] see an iconic as they go about their business. So, you might just be crawling up a building in Gotham and see the Dark Knight crouched on a gargoyle. Or you might be going through Metropolis and see Sup streak by. And they'll throw you a VO line or react to you and then be off about their business. [It's] nothing too immense -- just a little bit of DC there to remind you that you're there and what's going on.

It helps with the immersion.

Exactly. We have lots of content that we can talk about specifically where you're fighting alongside Batman. Or like in the first episode, you're defeating Scarecrow's minions and you're in the thick of it, right? If you're in the content, you're well-wrapped in the story and hip-deep in that illusion. But if you're out in the city, it's got to support believability on its own. And that's what that sort of Sighting system does.

The second thing we have are the Incidental Encounters. We call them the random acts of kindness or chaos. These are little vignettes that are around the city that don't have anything to do with any given piece of content, but they're still around to build that sense of life. So, this is were you would have [a] mugging. As a hero, you can go stop it. Or as a villain, you can go beat up both the mugger and the muggee. Instead of being on every street corner, thieves show up every once in a while to surprise you as you're moving through the city, to catch your eye and get you involved. And you can actually get unique clues and investigation items off these various encounters. There [are] actually some pretty cool ones. There's this saboteur on top of a building who's hacking in to wherever there [are] big satellite dishes. And as a hero you can go up there and beat him up and stop him from doing that . The cost is that you get a little VO line and little clue snippets to some of the communications between some of the bad guys. Or as a bad guy you can actually convince him to give you the control, and you use it [to] crash the satellite in the city. There's a cool [vignette] camera that will watch the satellite come down and crash into it. We have [these vignettes] littered throughout the game as sort of a Where's Waldo hunt where he can show up lots of places. It's those little touches that keep things going.

The last system we have is really meant to give you the sense of this rich, deep city. We have a series of exploration quests [for when] you're tired of fighting or just want to get deep in the DC lore. We have Booster Gold, who is this [smarmy], chill, NASCAR superhero. He actually wears the stickers of sponsors, so he's the ultimate sell-out. We use him as the tour guide [for] Booster Gold Tours Metropolis, [with] little kiosks that are conveniently placed [by] safehouses. If you go and take that tour, it will actually let you go to key areas like Crime Alley where Bruce Wayne's parents were murdered, or the Daily Planet, which is actually under duress here because of Brainiac's attacks -- [places] that really matter in the DC Universe. There's a cool cam that actually rotates around, telling you in Booster Gold's voice about any point of interest. You can just go, do these, and explore.

We have exploration everywhere. You get feats or accomplishments for actually going and discovering the whole rest of the world, to keep you grounded in the DC Universe. [One] random one is going to Big Belly Burgers, which are strewn throughout the city. I don't want to call it an Easter egg, but it's more of an immersion thing. You can go up to the food-ordering place, and it actually has a funny line with the guy inside pretending like you're ordering food at the drive-through -- dozen and dozens of those little touches.

It is Metropolis. This the first time that people can actually fight, talk to each other, and socialize in the Golden City or in Gotham. Always before, it just served one story. Here, it's a world. And it's up to the players and what they're going to do in it. So it's pretty cool that we are able to make it that robust as well as full of content.

I'm really excited about DCUO because it's a known universe and people actually get to live in it. What kind of things would you say (besides the IP) will draw somebody to DCUO over some of the other games that are out there?

What we've tried to do is religiously translate anything and everything and everyone that's cool in the DC Universe and just bring it online, so that you can experience it from your couch or from your computer. That's really the goal of it. That's the heart of it. Every other game might be able to provide you the underwear-on-the-outside kind of superhero with that generic superhero sort of feel to it. They do it from the MMO-side of experience. Which is fine; I'm not one to knock anyone's product here. I really like those things for what they are, but they are very clearly MMOs with capes. What we are really after is the best superhero experience we can give you. We feel that the best one is [one in which] you get to make your own superhero or villain in a known universe. It might be cool in another game to test your strength against random badguy X, but what's it like when you're fighting the Joker or the Batman? When you're a superhero and you can gauge yourself against that -- when you fight Robin or Harley and you beat them -- you say, "I did that." It tells you where you are on the superhero scale of things.

You mentioned something about buckets of powers and how they relate to existing characters in the DC Universe. What types of powersets or buckets of powers do you have available for the player?

Well we aren't going into all the details just yet. In fact, this week we found some things that [made us] fundamentally change the way some powers work. We are actually going to [give a list of powers] once we are pretty certain that they aren't going to radically change. But as far as the actual power types... we have ice, we have fire, we have mental. We have gadgets, which [has] kind of a Batman-approach to it. We have nature, which includes in it shape-shifting as well as a sort of Poison Ivy-approach. We have sorcery, which has magic and summoning in it. So each of those gives sort of a foundational set of buckets. The big thing that we are still working on and debating is light. Right now we want to make sure we have a quality experience on the ones we've chosen. It's sort of deceptive that there's those six buckets, because actually each has two major trees in it. Nature has healing and shape-shifting in it, and there's dozens of powers in there. Everybody can choose from an iconic powers list like heat vision or super strength. We have literally hundreds of powers in there. What we've tried to do is concentrate the coolness and make sure that each one of those really has action-game-awesome to it as well as DC-awesome to it. And again the action-physics-MMO tactical-nature to it.

What are you looking for in standard stats, like strength, agility, intellect? How exactly are you going about it as far as equipment is concerned?

Well, I think I'd like to do full justice to that and describe it all the way through. We do have stats on items and stats are linked to all the typical things you would expect. Think of it more as an action-game MMO-hybrid. Some [stats] are to your powers; some are to your weapons; some are to your movements. Each of the fundamental character choices you make kind of drives it. You see what I'm saying versus a fantasy game set-up? But I'd really like to do full justice to it -- break it down actual in detail -- rather than try to do it right now. I want to make sure everybody understands what the stats are and why they [work the way they do].

Massively: How would you describe how gameplay works? We talked about how it's going to be on the PS3 as well as the PC. How are the mechanics of that going to differ?

What we've tried to do is to really get one experience as much as possible. All your actions are immediate. You don't have a timeout. You click the mouse button and you punch or you shoot. This is a little bit different especially for MMO players. You have auto-attack, and you have the power that you layer on top of it. Well, imagine you took the auto-attack and you broke it into action-game combos. The way to think about it is there are three major portions of combat: how you move, what weapon you use, and what your powers are. Each of those contributes to combat.

Your weapon is the combos you have. So literally clicking combos does more damage and other effects. You can throw guys up in the air; you can knock them down; you can spin them around; and you can flip them over. So it can get you a lot of tactical and practical twitchy-feel to the attack.

Your power tray is more like your normal MMO. It gives you the powers that you execute on top of that -- the grapple line that pulls people in; the punching glove that knocks them back. It gives you specific powers that you can load out.

In simplistic terms, it gives you both combat combos you can do and tray powers you can do. The combination of those things is what you build your character from. So guys that made the same weapon choice can be radically different in the combat. Think of it as an MMO with an action game there for the moment-to-moment. You have the tactical depth that you get out of an MMO, but the frantic pace you get out of an action game.

So if you have two different players with the same build, you could have a totally different fighting style because of the mechanics of the game?

You can have two different nature guys because they chose different trees. Or you can have two different nature guys because they chose different weapons. Or you can have two different nature guys because they chose different movements. So it is essentially a class-based system -- each power has roles to it, and then you multiply all that times iconic powers, so that if you want super strength or heat vision, that will mix it up even more. [It's] the little spice on the top that DC makes different.

What about the leveling system -- what it is like and how will it play out in game?

That's very interesting because I just changed when you level in the tutorial this morning. Pacing is everything in a game and especially in an MMO, right? You don't want to have empty levels. So we're actually still changing the number of levels and distribution of them. We are taking the approach of this-is-your-hero's-journey. How do we give you an experience where you go from zero to hero? First, you're no one. Then, you're like Robin. Then, you're sort of a Nightwing-level. Then finally you're cool enough to where Batman himself is asking for your help. Although we haven't announced numbers or talked about them, what we are doing is going into beta and adjusting that pacing. So when you get to the endgame, it matters. I've got to be honest -- the journey has to be juicy, right? It has to be delicious. You don't want that journey to be the obstacle to the cool. You go to a game because you want to be a superhero or you want to be a fantasy warrior or a sci-fi guy, right? You want to go there to live and breathe and have that experience. We're going to keep tuning [levels] in beta. We're going to keep adjusting so that when you go through it, you go, "Man, that was tremendous. I really felt like a hero," or "I really felt bad and evil when I was doing it. And now I've earned enough fame or infamy that the Justice League or the Society itself is asking me to help them out in all these endgame endeavors, including raiding the Batcave itself." I mean come on. Do you want to level or do you want to raid the Batcave? Leveling is important to set the tone, but ultimately what you do when you achieve that pinnacle [is key]. You want to become that legend, then you want to grow it through that endgame. That's really the focus we're on.

I'm interested to know about hubs and places for people to meet up and socialize. What kinds of places will you find in Gotham or Metropolis that cater to roleplaying?

When you're not speeding around, you've got to have a place to slow down. Our game is fast and furious just like superheroes, so we have what we call safehouses. Those are basically sprinkled throughout the city. The villains have various clubs, like Club Lex which is obviously owned by Lex Luthor. That's where people can go and hang out. It's sort of a cool night club with low lighting, music thumping, people dancing, and various criminal activities going on in the corners. Then the heroes -- the goodie-two-shoes guys -- go to the police stations. Each of the police stations has a different theme in it (although the ones in Gotham are a little seedier and more troublesome). Those are there immediately, if you want to get out of the fray and hang out, go to the vendor, repair your stuff, talk to people, send mail, and all the rest of the basics.

If you want to get into the big social scene -- where are things going on, where are the armies massing themselves, where are the heroes and the villains getting together to face off? -- that's what we call HQs (headquarters). That's the JLA Watchtower and the Hall of Doom. Those are huge cities that players can use that have all the supplies, all the training, the banks, everything else in there. That's basically where the main social action goes on, including racing each other around the cities. It's pretty fun. There is stuff to do in the cities, not just walking around.

Is that where the PvP arenas are?

Actually, we have a fun-now-no-waiting thing, so you can queue right from your PDA (your JLA communicator) if you want to. But we've actually grounded it into the DC, again. There's the Kryptonian Enclave in the Watchtower, which actually has Supergirl there, and she has all the stuff that Superman awards to the people he mentors, including a House of El war suit (like epic raid gear) that he gives out, as well as missions and set dressing. There's also a Bat-family enclave there, too. Each of these areas punches up the DC universe and reinforces it. For the races, there's Flash in the Watchtower. He's the mentor of anybody who wants to race. Think of [them] as little touchstones of all the activities that you can do on-demand at any time in the game.

Do you have set-up PvP and PvE servers independent from each other?

It will be your classic Red and Blue servers with RP servers as well, I guess. I'm not sure if that's Green or what it is. If you're on Blue, you can't get attacked except where PvP is sanctioned, like an arena. If you're on a Red server, it's a free world -- rip the other guys up. Actually, John Smedley and a whole bunch of the other guys in San Diego were beating on all of us here in Austin. We had a fight around Metro-General Hospital yesterday that was like over 150 people all thrashing each other. It was literally nuts, but that's open-world PvP for you, right? It has that, and it has some rules against spawn camping and all those sorts of things.

 

[mister916]

I would not hesitate to get this game if it weren't for the upcoming games I really want. Maybe in a year or so.

 

[mister916]

I would not hesitate to get this game if it weren't for the upcoming games I really want. Maybe in a year or so.

 

[rfx45]

 

[rfx45]