darkSpyro

O.k. So by now we've established that Heroic Challenges are a bit of a hot topic. Some miss them and some, like me are glad they're gone. Let's face it after about the first 10 times, maybe sooner, they get old. The stats are nice and it's awesome to gain a permanent benefit for the work you've done. Again the spirit of Heroic Challenges are great but the execution is flawed. Here are a few things I propose:

1. Random dungeon generator. It's rarely fun to do the same thing over and over again knowing how it's going to end and provide little to no Challenge. If the reward is the same but the challenge is different it's still worth doing.

2. Execution. This is going to be a long one. So here's my idea.

The Chronicler. The Chronicler is a new n.p.c. that will provide a playable level that is a Skylander's origin story. Yeah I know right. How awesome would it be to play as Wham She'll and put the beat down on those trolls. Or as VooDood and face the undead dragon and EARN your axe. How much more value or reason would you need than to relive their reason for becoming a Skylander? The justification for the random generator is that a few details are always a little fuzzy in the retelling. Each retelling, or Chronicle is purchased with each figure.

3. The reward. Well stats are nice but I'm also thinking beastiary bonuses. Wham Shell would get extra damage against trolls. VooDood could gain extra crit chance against dragons or Undead. So each Skylander could gain a fixed permanent stat from the Chronicle itself but the Skylander it's based on would gain an additional benefit for completing it that's applicable to the Skylander.

Well what do you guys think?

Quote: Tigorus

O.k. So by now we've established that Heroic Challenges are a bit of a hot topic. Some miss them and some, like me are glad they're gone. Let's face it after about the first 10 times, maybe sooner, they get old. The stats are nice and it's awesome to gain a permanent benefit for the work you've done. Again the spirit of Heroic Challenges are great but the execution is flawed. Here are a few things I propose:

1. Random dungeon generator. It's rarely fun to do the same thing over and over again knowing how it's going to end and provide little to no Challenge. If the reward is the same but the challenge is different it's still worth doing.

2. Execution. This is going to be a long one. So here's my idea.

The Chronicler. The Chronicler is a new n.p.c. that will provide a playable level that is a Skylander's origin story. Yeah I know right. How awesome would it be to play as Wham She'll and put the beat down on those trolls. Or as VooDood and face the undead dragon and EARN your axe. How much more value or reason would you need than to relive their reason for becoming a Skylander? The justification for the random generator is that a few details are always a little fuzzy in the retelling. Each retelling, or Chronicle is purchased with each figure.

3. The reward. Well stats are nice but I'm also thinking beastiary bonuses. Wham Shell would get extra damage against trolls. VooDood could gain extra crit chance against dragons or Undead. So each Skylander could gain a fixed permanent stat from the Chronicle itself but the Skylander it's based on would gain an additional benefit for completing it that's applicable to the Skylander.

Well what do you guys think?

I think all of your ideas seem really fun and exciting. I am especially a fan of the random dungeon generator. It is hard to say what they will change and won't change. As I am going back to play SSA again, I am finding that I enjoy both games equally as much. I have no preference as to if there are Heroic Challenges or not. Only time will tell!

Well I like your ideas. Particularly the extra power against a particular type of enemy, that means even lame characters like Wham Shell would be worth using from time to time.

As long as it made a noticeable in game difference to the performance of a skylander that you had put the time and effort into upgrading I would be all for it.

Well done. Not that I think they will take up your ideas but they are good ideas regardless.

This is a helluva better deal than what we got in Swap Force...which was goose egg.

I think I commented to your first draft idea in the other thread...my only problem is the scaling as the number of figure increases. You want something RANDOM yet does something SPECIFIC. Not sure how we resolve that, programatically. Also, if you are looking at modifiers for specific attacks against certain enemies...this would have to be RE-PROGRAMMED on each game release as certain enemies wouldn't be in the next installment. I'd also like a number to accomplish to boost general stats and have them move over from game to game. That's a big ask of me, as everyone knows it's frustrating to put in 3+ hours per skylander only to have them act slow as molasses on the next installment.

As an idea...and I was John Luke Pecard, I'd say make it so.

Quote: GhostRoaster

This is a helluva better deal than what we got in Swap Force...

I think I commented to your first draft idea in the other thread...my only problem is the sheer problem with scaling this as the number of figure increases. You want something RANDOM yet does something SPECIFIC. Not sure how we resolve that, programatically.

As an idea...and I was John Luke Pecard, I'd say make it so.

See I'm thinking that it wouldn't be that hard on the programming side. If you've ever played a game like Diablo, or most recently Diablo 3, there are huge dungeons and these little five minute crypts and they are all randomly generated. You basically give it a general size parameter, number of enemies, set objectives and off you go. Since Activision and Blizzard are the same it shouldn't be too hard to compare notes.

In regards to the scaling, I'm thinking it will be worth it for them as it will be a compelling reason to get all the figures. You have mentioned in the past the "toys to life" concept and that it's slowly fading away. I agree and it needs to change. It will be a vast undertaking but I believe it would be worth it....but I'm also biased lol.

Quote: Tigorus

O.k. So by now we've established that Heroic Challenges are a bit of a hot topic. Some miss them and some, like me are glad they're gone. Let's face it after about the first 10 times, maybe sooner, they get old. The stats are nice and it's awesome to gain a permanent benefit for the work you've done. Again the spirit of Heroic Challenges are great but the execution is flawed. Here are a few things I propose:

1. Random dungeon generator. It's rarely fun to do the same thing over and over again knowing how it's going to end and provide little to no Challenge. If the reward is the same but the challenge is different it's still worth doing.

2. Execution. This is going to be a long one. So here's my idea.

The Chronicler. The Chronicler is a new n.p.c. that will provide a playable level that is a Skylander's origin story. Yeah I know right. How awesome would it be to play as Wham She'll and put the beat down on those trolls. Or as VooDood and face the undead dragon and EARN your axe. How much more value or reason would you need than to relive their reason for becoming a Skylander? The justification for the random generator is that a few details are always a little fuzzy in the retelling. Each retelling, or Chronicle is purchased with each figure.

3. The reward. Well stats are nice but I'm also thinking beastiary bonuses. Wham Shell would get extra damage against trolls. VooDood could gain extra crit chance against dragons or Undead. So each Skylander could gain a fixed permanent stat from the Chronicle itself but the Skylander it's based on would gain an additional benefit for completing it that's applicable to the Skylander.

Well what do you guys think?

That makes people pick favorites based on the disadvantage some will get from the get go. I don't think that is the intention of Skylanders.

Quote: WickedRogue

Quote: Tigorus

O.k. So by now we've established that Heroic Challenges are a bit of a hot topic. Some miss them and some, like me are glad they're gone. Let's face it after about the first 10 times, maybe sooner, they get old. The stats are nice and it's awesome to gain a permanent benefit for the work you've done. Again the spirit of Heroic Challenges are great but the execution is flawed. Here are a few things I propose:

1. Random dungeon generator. It's rarely fun to do the same thing over and over again knowing how it's going to end and provide little to no Challenge. If the reward is the same but the challenge is different it's still worth doing.

2. Execution. This is going to be a long one. So here's my idea.

The Chronicler. The Chronicler is a new n.p.c. that will provide a playable level that is a Skylander's origin story. Yeah I know right. How awesome would it be to play as Wham She'll and put the beat down on those trolls. Or as VooDood and face the undead dragon and EARN your axe. How much more value or reason would you need than to relive their reason for becoming a Skylander? The justification for the random generator is that a few details are always a little fuzzy in the retelling. Each retelling, or Chronicle is purchased with each figure.

3. The reward. Well stats are nice but I'm also thinking beastiary bonuses. Wham Shell would get extra damage against trolls. VooDood could gain extra crit chance against dragons or Undead. So each Skylander could gain a fixed permanent stat from the Chronicle itself but the Skylander it's based on would gain an additional benefit for completing it that's applicable to the Skylander.

Well what do you guys think?

That makes people pick favorites based on the disadvantage some will get from the get go. I don't think that is the intention of Skylanders.

How so? They would work just like Heroic Challenges in that no matter which Skylander did the Chronicle the benefit would be the same. There would simply be an added benefit for the Skylander doing it's own Chronicle. I initially didn't want Wrecking Ball but when I found out he came with a speed challenge I got him anyway. I think this system would again make every Skylander a must have again.

Quote: Tigorus

Quote: WickedRogue

Quote: Tigorus

O.k. So by now we've established that Heroic Challenges are a bit of a hot topic. Some miss them and some, like me are glad they're gone. Let's face it after about the first 10 times, maybe sooner, they get old. The stats are nice and it's awesome to gain a permanent benefit for the work you've done. Again the spirit of Heroic Challenges are great but the execution is flawed. Here are a few things I propose:

1. Random dungeon generator. It's rarely fun to do the same thing over and over again knowing how it's going to end and provide little to no Challenge. If the reward is the same but the challenge is different it's still worth doing.

2. Execution. This is going to be a long one. So here's my idea.

The Chronicler. The Chronicler is a new n.p.c. that will provide a playable level that is a Skylander's origin story. Yeah I know right. How awesome would it be to play as Wham She'll and put the beat down on those trolls. Or as VooDood and face the undead dragon and EARN your axe. How much more value or reason would you need than to relive their reason for becoming a Skylander? The justification for the random generator is that a few details are always a little fuzzy in the retelling. Each retelling, or Chronicle is purchased with each figure.

3. The reward. Well stats are nice but I'm also thinking beastiary bonuses. Wham Shell would get extra damage against trolls. VooDood could gain extra crit chance against dragons or Undead. So each Skylander could gain a fixed permanent stat from the Chronicle itself but the Skylander it's based on would gain an additional benefit for completing it that's applicable to the Skylander.

Well what do you guys think?

That makes people pick favorites based on the disadvantage some will get from the get go. I don't think that is the intention of Skylanders.

How so? They would work just like Heroic Challenges in that no matter which Skylander did the Chronicle the benefit would be the same. There would simply be an added benefit for the Skylander doing it's own Chronicle. I initially didn't want Wrecking Ball but when I found out he came with a speed challenge I got him anyway. I think this system would again make every Skylander a must have again.

This is pretty much what Charms do in the game right now then. I am not totally sure I understand how this is different. If you put them to a Skylander then it is the same thing as what Heroics are, just a difference in what they unlock.

Personally, would'nt mind if heroics came back. The only change i'd make would be giving Skylanders a limit to how many Heroics they can achieve, like 10 or 15. That way, you can still customize your Skylander's stats as you feel but you're not forced to repeat EVERY SINGLE ONE of them for each character, you're also not pushed too much to buy every single toy just to make everyone more powerful (you still are... 10/15 characters are still a nice number to buy, just not THAT much). Kinda like the EV limit in Pokèmon
However, elemental advantage should again matter in PvP, or else nobody is going to give Elemental challenges to their Skylanders when they can give crit, armor and speed

My personal opinion is that heroics should not be tied to Skylanders.


They should bring back heroics...about 20 of them total or so, so it's not crazy over the top. The heroics should be tied to some sort of item or disc you put on the portal rather than to characters like battle pack/adventure pack items. I would put 5 heroics on each and tie them to a upgrade type (speed, elemental, crit, armor to stay with the theme). So you can get 5 boosts to each of those upgrade types for each skylander you own just by owning the upgrade item. Nobody's Skylander gets left behind statistically because you don't own all of the new characters. Activision could make a few bucks hocking these things at whatever it is they would go for...or they could be thrown in with 3 packs. "Heroic Challenge packs." Something like that. I never liked that you could be restricted from maxing out a Skylander by not owning all the characters...even if it was nice to get an added bonus with heroic challenges for buying one.

Quote: Skylanders Dad

My personal opinion is that heroics should not be tied to Skylanders.


They should bring back heroics...about 20 of them total or so, so it's not crazy over the top. The heroics should be tied to some sort of item or disc you put on the portal rather than to characters like battle pack/adventure pack items. I would put 5 heroics on each and tie them to a upgrade type (speed, elemental, crit, armor to stay with the theme). So you can get 5 boosts to each of those upgrade types for each skylander you own just by owning the upgrade item. Nobody's Skylander gets left behind statistically because you don't own all of the new characters. Activision could make a few bucks hocking these things at whatever it is they would go for...or they could be thrown in with 3 packs. "Heroic Challenge packs." Something like that. I never liked that you could be restricted from maxing out a Skylander by not owning all the characters...even if it was nice to get an added bonus with heroic challenges for buying one.

I think it's unanimous that heroics shouldn't be exposed due to a skylander's purchase...but the RESULT of that heroic should in fact be tied to that specific skylander by storing it on the chip.

To be honest I'm o.k. with the Challenge being tied to the toy. It's how it was to begin with and it secures the purchase for Activision. It also brings back the fact that (in the case of Chronicles) I'm also purchasing that Skylanders' memories and trials when I purchase the toy. Plus this has to be looked at from a business stand point as well. If Activision doesn't cover their end it won't make it in any capacity. I thought about maybe having it tied to the Soul Gem in game but I think it feels more personal having it tied back to the toy itself. Again I like the idea of a challange of some type tied to the toy but I want it to mean something and provide a little challenge after I've done the first time. After doing the challenges in S.S.A. for the umpteenth time I was doing them rather mindlessly after a point and that's just not fun. The random generator would put the challenge back in. If I fought 30 Trolls before I'd still fight 30 Trolls again but instead of going straight down the first corridor then turning right, the second time I'd start left then go right and then straight...something along those lines.

For what it's worth, I think this Chronicles idea sounds really cool. Would love to have a special, background/historical quest like this for each character.

I was not going to bother logging in tonight but had to say this is a fantastic idea. Hope they do this or something similar.

I think it's fine how it was in Giants. The route people are trying to create with it doesn't look that good of an idea long run. It was fine with it tied to the figures, at least you were being offered it for just buying the figure. It could get way worse with the way people are saying it's not good how it was. It's almost like some want it to be how Disney Infinity is but not understand that it will cost you more money.

Quote:

My personal opinion is that heroics should not be tied to Skylanders.

Which is the exact opposite of what I would want. I want the handful of Skylanders that I put time and effort into to be more powerful than one that hasn't had the time and effort put into it.

I don't mind your idea of the challenges being tied to a magic item that you put on the portal so every Skylander you own can do every challenge even if you don't own each character, but I would want the benefits to go directly to those toys that I use to complete each challenge, not across the board to every toy, even those I hardly ever use.

Another way to think of it is like this - if my youngest son puts in the time and effort to do every challenge with one or two of his Skylanders and he's playing PVP against his older brother who hasn't bothered to do any of the challenges, who should have the advantage? I personally don't think that both should get the benefit.

Also from a business point of view one of the major challenges I've seen with Skylanders is that there are lots of toys with very little content. Having the ability to improve individual toys gives some motivation for completing each challenge with each toy which equals more time spent playing the game. And more time playing the game has got to be good from Activision's point of view.

Quote: WickedRogue

I think it's fine how it was in Giants. The route people are trying to create with it doesn't look that good of an idea long run. It was fine with it tied to the figures, at least you were being offered it for just buying the figure. It could get way worse with the way people are saying it's not good how it was. It's almost like some want it to be how Disney Infinity is but not understand that it will cost you more money.

Yeah I wouldn't want to pay for it beyond the cost of the fig. Plus a separate piece would defeat the purpose of the personal connection of the Chronicle to the toy. The original concept for the Heroic Challenges coming with the toy were fine. It's the repetitive nature of the same thing over and over again that needed to go.

Quote: kaosmumishot

Quote:

My personal opinion is that heroics should not be tied to Skylanders.

Which is the exact opposite of what I would want. I want the handful of Skylanders that I put time and effort into to be more powerful than one that hasn't had the time and effort put into it.

I don't mind your idea of the challenges being tied to a magic item that you put on the portal so every Skylander you own can do every challenge even if you don't own each character, but I would want the benefits to go directly to those toys that I use to complete each challenge, not across the board to every toy, even those I hardly ever use.

Another way to think of it is like this - if my youngest son puts in the time and effort to do every challenge with one or two of his Skylanders and he's playing PVP against his older brother who hasn't bothered to do any of the challenges, who should have the advantage? I personally don't think that both should get the benefit.

Also from a business point of view one of the major challenges I've seen with Skylanders is that there are lots of toys with very little content. Having the ability to improve individual toys gives some motivation for completing each challenge with each toy which equals more time spent playing the game. And more time playing the game has got to be good from Activision's point of view.

I completely agree. This is one of the few lacking parts of Skylanders in my own opinion. There are so many figures and my drive wants them to all be maxed out at level 20. To do this, I have to grind... grind... grind and grind even more. It is fun for a while, but then after you play Angry Angry Plants 20 times, it gets old. Of course, I am probably preaching to the choir.

Quote: lcopley98

Quote: kaosmumishot

Quote:

My personal opinion is that heroics should not be tied to Skylanders.

Which is the exact opposite of what I would want. I want the handful of Skylanders that I put time and effort into to be more powerful than one that hasn't had the time and effort put into it.

I don't mind your idea of the challenges being tied to a magic item that you put on the portal so every Skylander you own can do every challenge even if you don't own each character, but I would want the benefits to go directly to those toys that I use to complete each challenge, not across the board to every toy, even those I hardly ever use.

Another way to think of it is like this - if my youngest son puts in the time and effort to do every challenge with one or two of his Skylanders and he's playing PVP against his older brother who hasn't bothered to do any of the challenges, who should have the advantage? I personally don't think that both should get the benefit.

Also from a business point of view one of the major challenges I've seen with Skylanders is that there are lots of toys with very little content. Having the ability to improve individual toys gives some motivation for completing each challenge with each toy which equals more time spent playing the game. And more time playing the game has got to be good from Activision's point of view.

I completely agree. This is one of the few lacking parts of Skylanders in my own opinion. There are so many figures and my drive wants them to all be maxed out at level 20. To do this, I have to grind... grind... grind and grind even more. It is fun for a while, but then after you play Angry Angry Plants 20 times, it gets old. Of course, I am probably preaching to the choir.

It could also be that this type of game is not your type. RPG's usually tend to cater to those that in some form grind. It's how a lot of them work.

Quote: WickedRogue

Quote: lcopley98

Quote: kaosmumishot

Which is the exact opposite of what I would want. I want the handful of Skylanders that I put time and effort into to be more powerful than one that hasn't had the time and effort put into it.

I don't mind your idea of the challenges being tied to a magic item that you put on the portal so every Skylander you own can do every challenge even if you don't own each character, but I would want the benefits to go directly to those toys that I use to complete each challenge, not across the board to every toy, even those I hardly ever use.

Another way to think of it is like this - if my youngest son puts in the time and effort to do every challenge with one or two of his Skylanders and he's playing PVP against his older brother who hasn't bothered to do any of the challenges, who should have the advantage? I personally don't think that both should get the benefit.

Also from a business point of view one of the major challenges I've seen with Skylanders is that there are lots of toys with very little content. Having the ability to improve individual toys gives some motivation for completing each challenge with each toy which equals more time spent playing the game. And more time playing the game has got to be good from Activision's point of view.

I completely agree. This is one of the few lacking parts of Skylanders in my own opinion. There are so many figures and my drive wants them to all be maxed out at level 20. To do this, I have to grind... grind... grind and grind even more. It is fun for a while, but then after you play Angry Angry Plants 20 times, it gets old. Of course, I am probably preaching to the choir.

It could also be that this type of game is not your type. RPG's usually tend to cater to those that in some form grind. It's how a lot of them work.

I don't think it is safe to say that. Skylanders is my favorite game on the market right now and I wouldn't trade it for anything.

I wouldn't go so far as to call Skylanders an R.P.G. While it does have some R.P.G. elements I'd say it was and Action-Adventure-Lite R.P.G....of Doom.

Getting back to business, if they were to adopt a new system like this how would we get it on older figures? I have a thought but it might not be so popular. As of now there are 80 unique Skylanders. That being said if a new Challenge system didn't come with the new Series remakes that would mean they would need to make 80 new Challenges or Chronicles (I still love that name). To make it worth their while, and to acknowledge that they are running a business, I could see them charging $1.99/Chronicle or something along those lines. Now I would prefer to earn these somehow in game but I realizes that might not be feasible since they are making new content for old figures. If they were to charge for these I would expect at least 20-30 minutes of content out of them. This would also open the door to other d.l.c. and online play since an online store would be a viable option. This franchise is big enough now for something like this.

Looking at this in another light, if they continue to keep the current stat gain system in place, I wouldn't even need additional stats from running the Chronicle (Heroic). They could simply award stars or something. The content would be enough. Now if they wanted to start giving us the ability to increase our damage, then you'd have a carrot on a stick.