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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Whizbang Dustyboots" data-source="post: 5437000" data-attributes="member: 11760">Because they're supposed to model superhero comics, which the devs, honestly, don't seem to read.Think of how important secret identities are for Spider-Man, Superman, Batman, et al. There should be contacts you can only interact with in your secret identity -- either because they won't talk to you (J. Jonah Jameson), or because you'd put them in danger in your superhero guise (Mary Jane Watson), or other reasons. Likewise, you should be required to switch out of your uniform to infiltrate some areas -- no one will let Batman into their shady factory, but Bruce Wayne, who says he wants to buy the place, will be given the keys if he asks. Criminals should also be less likely to start mischief in the presence of a costumed hero, especially after a level or two.Couple it with a more true-to-comics faction based PvP system (heroes vs. villains) and going incognito would mean dodging PvP, as well as the NPC agents of your enemy (cops or organized crime).No one should be required to use a secret identity -- the X-Men don't consistently do so, for instance -- but it's a core component of the most popular superhero characters in the world, and for MMOs to not support it at all makes me wonder what it is they think they're emulating. (Of course, this is the same industry that gave us a Star Wars MMO without the ability to fly a spaceship for several years and originally made it essentially impossible to be a Jedi, because everyone was wanting to play a moisture farmer or something.)And this also goes for combat and healing -- every superhero team isn't loaded up with "healers" (there are probably fewer than a dozen who've ever been a part of the JLA or Avengers in their entire lifespans), but CoX requires them, because the developers are using EverQuest as their starting point and not, more logically, a console fighting game, where characters recover quickly from most wounds once they're out of combat. That would be much more true to the genre, be easier to balance (making healers appealing to play is a headache in all games) and have more appeal to non-MMO gamers, who are most of the theoretical gaming audience.My strong suspicion is that CoX was a superhero game because the developers wanted to make an MMO and seized on comics because it was unclaimed territory, not because they had great knowledge of or passion for comic books. (And yes, I know Statesman claimed he did, but his game sure doesn't show any evidence of it.)</blockquote>

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