darkSpyro

I understand the massive use of solid plastic, it might explain an higher price (still don't know if 15€/$ is fair, but at least, I'd say, 12/11); what I don't excuse is the lack of an extra functionality of some sort (transparent weapons that light up in-game scream for som sort of dynamic glowing, in my eyes).
Giants light up, Swappers swap, Trap Masters...?

That being said, I have no problem spending 15€ for them, because their in-game counterparts are awesome, just like every other Sklander has been so far, more or less, and their extra damages against trappable villains are really effective.
Could have thought better, but I'm happy with what I got.

May I say I'm against Gimmicklanders in general...?
The only legit ones, to me, are the Giants (I LOVE the idea of a giant behemoth, representing each Element), from a lore point of view, and the Swappers, from a technical one (hands down the best Gimmicklanders, in terms of features).
But I tend to see character-related gimmick as... Restrictive.

Look at the SWAP Force.
They managed to get really creative, with the designs and powers, even if being limited by the humanoid concept.
Or the Trap Masters, that can still have really original gameplays, even with a mandatory crystal weapon of some sort.

They are still limitations, in my eyes, something I don't want to associate with this franchise.
I want to see whacky and funny characters, that can be creepy, crazy-looking, absolutely majestic or even serious.
But I want to see creativity flowing everywhere.

That's why I prefer Cores.
Take Chopper and Rocky Roll.
Same game, couldn't be more different.

Take Jawbreaker and Wallop.
Not that different, uh...?

And that's also why I really like the trap gimmick.
A gimmick that finally focus on something that isn't the Skylanders cast.
Sure, they ARE playable characters, but to a new extent.

I would love if they could avoid creating more gimmicklanders.
Want to make a character that rides a four legged beast?
Go for it!

But don't make other 15 that have the same base concept, ok?

I used to be very much 'pro-LED' in Trap MAster weapons, I mean its so obvious they should do it right?

Then I thought about it and realized there is most likely 'more' to it than that.

So I did a super simple test. Anyone who's studied physics can yam on me, it's not a fool proof proof of concept, but the first layer of logic and science is solid. Get a laser pointer, point it through the trap. Get an LED flashlight, point it through the trap. both have different viewing angles - acute and obtuse in summary - but the result is identical.

The light goes right THROUGH the trap.

These traps aren't made from glass prisms. They are a clear plastic, so they may slightly distort light, but they do not 'absorb' the light (since they are clear), and they do not internally refract the light.

Vis a vis

Using crystal weapons would lead to really crappy looking 'lightcore' effects on the weapons.

"But Unreall, Prism Break looked good as a Lightcore, and his crystals were clear"

No, they weren't crystal clear, and they were much smaller, at the size of his gems, they could use a wide angle LED and simply emulate the light glowing.

Now look at say...Blastermind

He would go PERFECT with the effect used like Prism Break, no argument there...but

Would ALL come out terrible, with light just shining all over the place, only lighting up small portions of the weapons, etc...or even worse, having a wire snaked through the crystal to LEDs located in other areas. the inconsistencies would be horrendous.

So in short, they most likely did think about using the lightcore effect on weapons, but actual application would have been beyond difficult.
-Unreall

Well,all that does is say making Lighcore customs with TMs isn't worth it, but doesn't mean they couldn't have done it. Even if just the base of the crystals(say,where they're holding them or where they come out in the solid colors) would give a nice enough of an effect. Just not doing anything but keeping the gimmick in game isn't much of a solution.

Quote: Bifrost

Well,all that does is say making Lighcore customs with TMs isn't worth it, but doesn't mean they couldn't have done it. Even if just the base of the crystals(say,where they're holding them or where they come out in the solid colors) would give a nice enough of an effect. Just not doing anything but keeping the gimmick in game isn't much of a solution.

No offense intended, but that phrase, to me, just invalidated any arguments you have made and can personally make on this topic because all that does is scream entitlement. Well, they could have made each Trap Master out of pure gold and sold them at $9.99 and included a free house, car and boat...but they didn't, as that doesn't make any kind of economical sense.

Based on a couple of factors I mentioned earlier, while I'm not a fan of the higher price point for every gimmick figure (especially those that, on the surface, seem to lack any additional expense as previous figures who featured flashier gimmicks), I'm sure that the Trap Masters ultimately came out like they did for economical reasons. They could have manufactured the weapons out of several pieces of plastic to make sure the light split...which would increase the cost. They could have roughed up the weapons, which would lead to increased QC times which would increase figure failure rates (as a small mold with a lot of smaller "rough" bumps is a lot more complicated to get right than a couple of basic sides on a solid piece)...which would increase the cost. They could have produced the figures as-is but included LEDs, as you say...which would increase the cost...and, per Unreallystic's above example/proof of concept, cause them to look like garbage, cause people to complain even more, even louder, and likely lose faith in the franchise and take steps toward abandoning it, finding other things to spend their money on.

The Trap Masters are what they are. I'm honestly glad they didn't offer them as Lightcore figures, as all of the Lightcore figures, even the best of them, were always finicky about lighting up correctly (if at all, in some cases) and had a much higher anecdotally reported failure rate of any gimmick figure to date. Additionally, the Traptanium portal didn't really play nice with quite a lot of them, forcing you to push them all the way up against the side or sit them on/near the trap slot in order to get them to operate properly. Bigger figures needing more light would require larger/brighter/higher powered LEDs. Since the current portal didn't do a good job with the old, more basic figures, maybe Activision ditched the gimmick at the last minute because of now-known issues with the portal which would have likely delayed the launch to resolve.

Maybe for the next game we'll see Activision produce something more in line with what you're imagining and, with the additional time for R&D, have been able to perfect the manufacturing process and purchased enough materials to at least keep costs where they are if not pushing them down somewhat. As it is, while I'm not overly thrilled with any of the gimmicks that have come out so far, I still have a lot of fun with all of the games and all of the characters therein. If Trap Masters aren't your thing? Oh well, maybe you'll connect more solidly with the next batch. It's not possible to make everybody happy all the time.

-Doug

How saying that invalidated my other comment about LC lights dying? That's my only other comment. If you're just going to claim I lost the thread game by one phrase you could've at least bothered to finish the sentence and notice that later I added that not doing that AND keeping it ingame isn't much of a solution. I'm not saying I deserve crap, I'm just saying it was a silly choice to choose a gimmick you couldn't replicate in the figure - and if you found that out late in production the problem with the gimmick kinda speaks for itself. They spend more than enough time messing around for new portals to know to experiment with the gimmick way early in development.

Quote: Bifrost

How saying that invalidated my other comment about LC lights dying? That's my only other comment.

Except that the tone/spirit of the reply, and I apologize if my interpretation is wrong, was that only a small subgroup of lightcore figures had issues, so why not continue the practice. The way you phrased this is immediately polarizing and a poor way to phrase it. As I pointed out with a greatly exaggerated scenario, they could have done anything. But they didn't. "It would have been easy for them to implement, here's how" would have been a much better way to get your point across. Again, no offense intended, but the phrasing as originally submitted, sounded very much like arguing with my friends' 5 year old, not something fostering discussion or debate. As someone who has had various discussions with small children that always circle in this direction, I immediately turn on my "Nope" sign and move on when hearing such phrases as there is no discussing/arguing with it--"I want this, this is why, I don't care why not because they could have done it" is its own, inarguable conclusion.

Quote:

If you're just going to claim I lost the thread game by one phrase you could've at least bothered to finish the sentence and notice that later I added that not doing that AND keeping it ingame isn't much of a solution.

I'm not going to claim anything and it wasn't my intent. After saying that they could have done so (creating Lightcore Trap Masters), you give your own example of how they could have incorporated the technology, which the post right before yours more or less proved that it would look like garbage. That only supports your basic premise of "well, they could have done it" and the earlier tone that I interpreted as "they should have." Just because they didn't do something doesn't mean they should have, no matter how we individually, personally feel about it.

Quote:

As the marjority I'm not saying I deserve crap, I'm just saying it was a silly choice to choose a gimmick you couldn't replicate in the figure - and if you found that out late in production the problem with the gimmick kinda speaks for itself. They spend more than enough time messing around for new portals to know to experiment with the gimmick way early in development.

We're not privy to Activision's internal R&D, playtesting, etc. (nor should we be), and we don't know what happened here. They very well could have experimented with these guys and figured out early on that the smooth, solid weapons looked like garbage as Lightcore items and gone on to test one or more of the methods I suggested earlier, only to find out those weren't economical, also didn't work out right, etc. Who's to know? We know that they didn't go that route. As for glowy parts on the Lightcore figures needing to match 1:1 with how things are in the game, I don't really recall any of the Giants' eyes glowing in-game, but all of the figures featured one or more glowing eyes as well as another glow point on their character. Should the Giants be decried as well since they don't match up?

-Doug

To be honest I think Light Core's in general are just a pain for them to produce. The power draw from the portal, wiring, the l.e.d., making sure it works, blah blah blah, etc. That being said I'm not convinced on any level that the price for Trap Masters was justified. Giants like Crusher had several different types of plastic as well as all those separate pieces. He had flexible opaque plastic for the weapon shaft, transparent blue plastic for his shoulder spikes and eyes and hard opaque for his body and hammer. All that on top of being a Light Core.

Quote: Tigorus

To be honest I think Light Core's in general are just a pain for them to produce. The power draw from the portal, wiring, the l.e.d., making sure it works, blah blah blah, etc. That being said I'm not convinced on any level that the price for Trap Masters was justified. Giants like Crusher had several different types of plastic as well as all those separate pieces. He had flexible opaque plastic for the weapon shaft, transparent blue plastic for his shoulder spikes and eyes and hard opaque for his body and hammer. All that on top of being a Light Core.

If I had to guess? I'd say it's a QC-over-time issue. Depending on how "intelligent" the portals are, they may be upping the amount of power they're trying to push to a figure once it's in range. If you have a character that's just at the edge of the range where it can be picked up and powered, the portal could be pushing slightly more juice than the figure needs. Since it's at the edge of the range, it's only picking up just enough to work. But if you drop another lightcore right in the best spot for reception? It would/could end up getting the higher output, causing more wear on its internals over time. As I've not dissected these things, pulled out my multimeter, etc., to figure out exactly what the power flow is like I'm just guessing here, but something akin to the above scenario could explain why these figures tended to have a higher than normal failure rate. If you apply too much power to any electrical device you can run the chance of killing it prematurely.

-Doug

Quote: darkchylde28

Quote: Tigorus

To be honest I think Light Core's in general are just a pain for them to produce. The power draw from the portal, wiring, the l.e.d., making sure it works, blah blah blah, etc. That being said I'm not convinced on any level that the price for Trap Masters was justified. Giants like Crusher had several different types of plastic as well as all those separate pieces. He had flexible opaque plastic for the weapon shaft, transparent blue plastic for his shoulder spikes and eyes and hard opaque for his body and hammer. All that on top of being a Light Core.

If I had to guess? I'd say it's a QC-over-time issue. Depending on how "intelligent" the portals are, they may be upping the amount of power they're trying to push to a figure once it's in range. If you have a character that's just at the edge of the range where it can be picked up and powered, the portal could be pushing slightly more juice than the figure needs. Since it's at the edge of the range, it's only picking up just enough to work. But if you drop another lightcore right in the best spot for reception? It would/could end up getting the higher output, causing more wear on its internals over time. As I've not dissected these things, pulled out my multimeter, etc., to figure out exactly what the power flow is like I'm just guessing here, but something akin to the above scenario could explain why these figures tended to have a higher than normal failure rate. If you apply too much power to any electrical device you can run the chance of killing it prematurely.

-Doug

Ehhh I doubt there's enough juice being drawn from the portal that a resistor in the base or figure itself wouldn't solve but I'm not claiming any engineering expertise, just my limited electronics knowledge when I used to put l.e.d.'s and batteries in all my Warhammer 40K tanks. While the power source was different the mechanics must be similar. Bottom line is they felt it wasn't worth it...But why is the damn price the same as the figures with all the bells and whistles lol!!!???!!! I look forward to V.V.'s gimmick since I personally feel that the Swappers were the best gimmick yet and will stand the test of time.

Quote: Tigorus

Ehhh I doubt there's enough juice being drawn from the portal that a resistor in the base or figure itself wouldn't solve but I'm not claiming any engineering expertise, just my limited electronics knowledge when I used to put l.e.d.'s and batteries in all my Warhammer 40K tanks. While the power source was different the mechanics must be similar. Bottom line is they felt it wasn't worth it...But why is the damn price the same as the figures with all the bells and whistles lol!!!???!!! I look forward to V.V.'s gimmick since I personally feel that the Swappers were the best gimmick yet and will stand the test of time.

I agree, even though I'm the one who posed the theory, lol. It's possible, as a lot of cheap Chinese capacitors have been used over the last decade or two and have been known to cause common failures across entire product lines (many models of Apple G5 iMacs, various laptops from every manufacturer, certain years of Samsung TVs, etc.). If you have a bunch of low power resistors with the same level of manufacturing prowess and durability as the caps which have wreaked havok across the tech industry start to go funky you could definitely end up with a mess. It could also be poor quality solder (the bane of XBox 360 owners everywhere), poor wiring (if they weren't or weren't all soldered inside), etc. (shrug) We may never know.

As for the pricing...I honestly felt the Giants weren't worth a $5/ea bump, but figure Activision introduced it as they did to get people used to that sort of tiered pricing. Unless they can come up with something that clearly cost them to manufacture, I figure gimmick figures for the foreseeable future will end up at the $14.99/ea suggested retail point that the past figures have. I could have voted with my wallet each game but ultimately ended up with a combination of collector fever combined with satisfaction with the overall quality of the game and characters. Even if a few physical figures seem overpriced to me, other characters that I truly enjoy end up more than making up for it.

-Doug

Quote:

As for the pricing...I honestly felt the Giants weren't worth a $5/ea bump, but figure Activision introduced it as they did to get people used to that sort of tiered pricing. Unless they can come up with something that clearly cost them to manufacture, I figure gimmick figures for the foreseeable future will end up at the $14.99/ea suggested retail point that the past figures have. I could have voted with my wallet each game but ultimately ended up with a combination of collector fever combined with satisfaction with the overall quality of the game and characters. Even if a few physical figures seem overpriced to me, other characters that I truly enjoy end up more than making up for it.

-Doug

Yeah I agree. I just hope the gimmicks get a little more creative going forward. Also for the most part I've enjoyed most of the Trap Masters themselves and I'm not baggin on them specifically just their price. T.M.'s like Gear Shift, Knight Light, Lobb-Star, Wallop, Bushwhack and Tuff Luck have been a truly fun and unique play experience. Gear Shift is frankly one of the best Skylanders ever...PERIOD...(in my opinion at least).

Gimmicks have been substandard with the exception of Swap Force. I acknowledge that as the best because of the technical and game mechanics I know they had to work long hours to get working. Coming up with a bigger character with a clear plastic weapon? Not so much.

Quote: GhostRoaster

Gimmicks have been substandard with the exception of Swap Force. I acknowledge that as the best because of the technical and game mechanics I know they had to work long hours to get working. Coming up with a bigger character with a clear plastic weapon? Not so much.

While I agree that the Giants and Trap Masters aren't much to look at, I have to ask, what would you have them do? You listened to Matt, Abby and I spitball ideas for Sky 5 gimmicks, almost certainly all of which will never see the light of day. How easy do you think it is to come up with a worthy, fun, worthwhile and cost effective gimmick to get folks hooked on your new game? We can complain and criticize all we like, but it's honestly a lot harder than the developers are normally given credit for. We're all guilty of it at some point, but it's a lot simpler to go "Oh, well those guys suck" than to offer an actual, viable option for what would work in that gimmick's place.

-Doug

Quote: darkchylde28

Quote: GhostRoaster

Gimmicks have been substandard with the exception of Swap Force. I acknowledge that as the best because of the technical and game mechanics I know they had to work long hours to get working. Coming up with a bigger character with a clear plastic weapon? Not so much.

While I agree that the Giants and Trap Masters aren't much to look at, I have to ask, what would you have them do? You listened to Matt, Abby and I spitball ideas for Sky 5 gimmicks, almost certainly all of which will never see the light of day. How easy do you think it is to come up with a worthy, fun, worthwhile and cost effective gimmick to get folks hooked on your new game? We can complain and criticize all we like, but it's honestly a lot harder than the developers are normally given credit for. We're all guilty of it at some point, but it's a lot simpler to go "Oh, well those guys suck" than to offer an actual, viable option for what would work in that gimmick's place.

-Doug

Yeah but if a company like Hersey makes a new candy bar and I try it but think it's ehh can't I say so without offering a replacement? I don't know a thing about how to make a candy bar but I still might not like the one that's offered.

A lot of us have offered gimmick options, myself included, that focus on game play more than the figures. They have the tools but they (Activision) appears to be more focused on selling new toys than innovating game play (so it would seem). I don't need the profit speech, I know they are a profitable business. I get that. I've supported them by purchasing everything released prior to Trap Team. I do agree with many others in that it was a lack luster experience compared to others in the franchise. The game is still fun but certain aspects rub me the wrong way. I'm playing it again on a new PS4 just to refine my experience now that I can progress without waiting on a Magic (element) Key Master or the "Stumble in the Dark" and "Blinded by the Light" sets. Just for fun if you want to start another "what would your Sky 5 idea be" thread I'll totally participate. It could make for some fun pod cast material.

I still love the franchise as a whole but my excitement is waning and I do feel they need to WOW me back. Having spent around $1600 since 2011 (which is more than I spent on my last two comps.) I do feel a slight (HUGE) since of entitlement in that they need to impress me or I'm going to leave. Not a threat just a fact. I want to stay and support future endeavors but I don't see that happening if their SOLE purpose is to sell toys. I feel a connection to this franchise since I've been here since the beginning. I'm an early adopter you might say. Fully invested at the ground level and have been ever since. I WANT to stay but I also WANT THEM TO MAKE me stay by grabbing my excitement again and giving me a reason to continue to support them.

Quote: darkchylde28

While I agree that the Giants and Trap Masters aren't much to look at, I have to ask, what would you have them do? You listened to Matt, Abby and I spitball ideas for Sky 5 gimmicks, almost certainly all of which will never see the light of day. How easy do you think it is to come up with a worthy, fun, worthwhile and cost effective gimmick to get folks hooked on your new game? We can complain and criticize all we like, but it's honestly a lot harder than the developers are normally given credit for. We're all guilty of it at some point, but it's a lot simpler to go "Oh, well those guys suck" than to offer an actual, viable option for what would work in that gimmick's place.

-Doug

It's a tough cookie to crack, and I don't envy their position. IMO going the weapon / add on route makes most sense but it directly opposes the idea that skylanders are unique in of themselves, and doing so takes away from them. You could argue they've already gone down that road with traps...it's clear the focus on just plain ole skylanders isn't enough for them, which is why I think they'll have a much easier time innovating the GAME instead of the TOYS.

Not sure if you've noticed, but there's been A LOT of suggestions to go with the complaining. I'm not an arm chair Monday Morning quarterback. Damn success. It sucks to have to keep the good thing going. I feel so sorry for them. NOT.

Quote: Tigorus

Yeah but if a company like Hersey makes a new candy bar and I try it but think it's ehh can't I say so without offering a replacement? I don't know a thing about how to make a candy bar but I still might not like the one that's offered.

For the most part I agree with this statement. However, folks (usually many of the same ones) have been complaining about the gimmicks since the Giants were first announced and appears. If Hershey makes a candy bar and you're not impressed, go ahead, say so. If they make a second one and you're not impressed? Ok, complain. If they make a third one that you don't like? Time for you to cut them some slack or state what you would put into your own candy bar (gimmick figures) versus talking about how you would better the candy bar experience (gameplay).

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A lot of us have offered gimmick options, myself included, that focus on game play more than the figures. They have the tools but they (Activision) appears to be more focused on selling new toys than innovating game play (so it would seem).

While any brainstorming is good, Activision is out to sell figures and clearly wants a new gimmick as their hook for each game. If you're offering "gimmicks" which would apply to all old figures and not any new toyline, Activision won't care as then you're not in any way required or needing to purchase new figures, their main source of profit on the franchise.

You talk about innovating gameplay. How are they supposed to innovate gameplay? What are your suggestions? The Wii innovated gameplay, moving us from basic controllers to actually having to move around. The Wii U pushed that a little more, adding the Wii U remote with its screen, NFC capabilities, etc. I don't understand what you're wanting Activision/TfB to add to this series that would be "innovative," as everything they've done and everything that I can think of really isn't and wouldn't be.

All dudes can fly! All dudes can shoot fire! Everybody gets a machine gun! None are really innovative, they're just new flavors to incorporate into an action platformer. Are you looking for innovation or better content? I'd settle for the latter moreso than the former.

Quote:

I don't need the profit speech, I know they are a profitable business. I get that. I've supported them by purchasing everything released prior to Trap Team. I do agree with many others in that it was a lack luster experience compared to others in the franchise. The game is still fun but certain aspects rub me the wrong way. I'm playing it again on a new PS4 just to refine my experience now that I can progress without waiting on a Magic (element) Key Master or the "Stumble in the Dark" and "Blinded by the Light" sets. Just for fun if you want to start another "what would your Sky 5 idea be" thread I'll totally participate. It could make for some fun pod cast material.

Well, companies remain profitable when people keep purchasing their wares. Seeing as Activision is claiming growth in their sales year over year and their target audience is little kids, I have a feeling that even though we adult collectors make sure to buy everything we can, if a bunch of us took our ball and left the Skylanders franchise wouldn't really feel it. Even if the next Skylanders doesn't tickle you the way former entries in the series did, guaranteed it will hit a home run with all sorts of kids who are already invested or have newly become so. It would be great if Activision would cater to the requests of adult collectors, but their main audience is a bunch of folks who may or may not be able to read, cross the street on their own or stay up past 9:00 PM.

Quote:

I still love the franchise as a whole but my excitement is waning and I do feel they need to WOW me back. Having spent around $1600 since 2011 (which is more than I spent on my last two comps.) I do feel a slight (HUGE) since of entitlement in that they need to impress me or I'm going to leave. Not a threat just a fact. I want to stay and support future endeavors but I don't see that happening if their SOLE purpose is to sell toys. I feel a connection to this franchise since I've been here since the beginning. I'm an early adopter you might say. Fully invested at the ground level and have been ever since. I WANT to stay but I also WANT THEM TO MAKE me stay by grabbing my excitement again and giving me a reason to continue to support them.

I'd love to be wow'd too, but if the next big reveal isn't something mind shattering I'm not going to really be too upset about it. With all the figures I've purchased and opened just for play, I'd say I'm easily into the franchise for $3-4K, easy. Would I love to see more, newer stuff catered more to my play style, point of view, etc.? Sure. Am I ready to pack up and leave over it? Nope. As we all get older, wiser and more familiar with things, they have a tendency to become more familiar and lose some of their ability to surprise us. If the next Skylanders game doesn't shock me to my core and cause my eyes to bulge with WOWness? That doesn't mean that they didn't do a good, or even great job. After the "amazingness" of the whole "Toys to Life" concept wore off (a couple of hours maybe?), they haven't really managed to do anything else that got me salivating other than promising me another game to play in the fall and more dudes to collect and play with. If that's not enough for you I can understand being disappointed, but I don't think there's any resolving that either.

-Doug

@ Doug,

I'm so not chain copying our quotes so here it goes:

Here are some things to get the ball rolling that I've posted in other threads. Some are fresh to the franchise and some would be returning. It's sad that returning features are on this list but there it is. While some aren;t innovative to the industry, they would add something new to this franchise:

PVP.

Stat increases per level and not just HP.

Some kind of heroic...let's get invested in our toys again shall we. Something along the line of personal missions that would provide a stat buff for the Skylanders who's personal story it is and a minor buff for other Skylanders wanting to complete it as well.

Some kind of system that compels me to use my old figures. This would also give newcomers a reason to pick up older figures and help retailers clear out old stock. This would be simple stuff but maybe unlock legacy missions or heroics, hats, global buffs (beyond Elemental Power (who actually goes out of their way for this stat lol)).

Gear (think outfits with stats) and itemization. Nothing too fancy just some kind of stat progression in addition to hats.

A little more maturity in the main story. Not much just like maybe SSA equivalent.

ONLINE MODE FOR PVP AND CO-OP PLAY...OMG ACTIVISION THIS IS GETTING OLD!!!1111!!!!!

Have a single player mode that allows a tag in with another Skylander similar to how traps worked with villains. It basically would add a passive buff and skip the "Magic Moment" to switch for different play options.

Random level generation.

Hardcore Mode. A new save file would be needed and if a Skylanders died they could never come back unless you created a new save file. Exp. and gold would be increased along with a chance at better gear (see above)

A demo mode with a Skylander you don't own to try in a training room or hub. This would be unlocked after you obtained said Skylander's Soul Gem. This would also be a way to check out upcoming Skylanders before they are released but not actually level them. I have no hopes for this but it would be nice.

Another idea:

Skylanders: Portal Wars

Will you answer the call for Good or will you side with evil for control of Skylands?

You can play as the Portal Master for Good by taking control of an ancient Arkyean Power Suit that allows the user to have a physical presence in Skylands. Or you can play as one of three evil generals and upcoming Evil Portal Masters. They are, the Evil Troll General Jerkzees, The Drow Sorceress Opressa and the vile Cyclops Old Dread Eye!!!

As the Portal Master in your Arkyean suit you'd issue orders commanding your Skylanders to victory. You'd level up the suit gaining buffs and powers to your skylanders. Or you could play the level and use your Skylanders as powerful allies summoning them for a short time to assist you (like a magic item). The suit would need to be leveled up similar to the Skylanders themselves.

As the Evil Generals you'd take command of your villain armies and storm Skylands. Each General would add specific buffs to the Villains you are commanding at the time. Or you could take direct control of the General them selves and spread Chaos and destruction throughout Skylands. Each General would have there own specific power and buff set.

The gimmick could be powers and abilities for your suit and the villain generals. It could be discs or they could make a mock-up suit or villain statues that have upgrade nodes that would set into the figure with magnets like in Swap Force and each piece would have it's own RFID. Think Voltron with upgrade items...and new figures of course.

At this point maybe another thread would be justified lol. That is by no means I all I can come up with but it's things I've posted recently.

Quote: Tigorus

@ Doug,

I'm so not chain copying our quotes so here it goes:

Here are some things to get the ball rolling that I've posted in other threads. Some are fresh to the franchise and some would be returning. It's sad that returning features are on this list but there it is. While some aren;t innovative to the industry, they would add something new to this franchise:

PVP.

Stat increases per level and not just HP.

Some kind of heroic...let's get invested in our toys again shall we. Something along the line of personal missions that would provide a stat buff for the Skylanders who's personal story it is and a minor buff for other Skylanders wanting to complete it as well.

Some kind of system that compels me to use my old figures. This would also give newcomers a reason to pick up older figures and help retailers clear out old stock. This would be simple stuff but maybe unlock legacy missions or heroics, hats, global buffs (beyond Elemental Power (who actually goes out of their way for this stat lol)).

Gear (think outfits with stats) and itemization. Nothing too fancy just some kind of stat progression in addition to hats.

A little more maturity in the main story. Not much just like maybe SSA equivalent.

ONLINE MODE FOR PVP AND CO-OP PLAY...OMG ACTIVISION THIS IS GETTING OLD!!!1111!!!!!

Have a single player mode that allows a tag in with another Skylander similar to how traps worked with villains. It basically would add a passive buff and skip the "Magic Moment" to switch for different play options.

Random level generation.

Hardcore Mode. A new save file would be needed and if a Skylanders died they could never come back unless you created a new save file. Exp. and gold would be increased along with a chance at better gear (see above)

A demo mode with a Skylander you don't own to try in a training room or hub. This would be unlocked after you obtained said Skylander's Soul Gem. This would also be a way to check out upcoming Skylanders before they are released but not actually level them. I have no hopes for this but it would be nice.

Another idea:

Skylanders: Portal Wars

Will you answer the call for Good or will you side with evil for control of Skylands?

You can play as the Portal Master for Good by taking control of an ancient Arkyean Power Suit that allows the user to have a physical presence in Skylands. Or you can play as one of three evil generals and upcoming Evil Portal Masters. They are, the Evil Troll General Jerkzees, The Drow Sorceress Opressa and the vile Cyclops Old Dread Eye!!!

As the Portal Master in your Arkyean suit you'd issue orders commanding your Skylanders to victory. You'd level up the suit gaining buffs and powers to your skylanders. Or you could play the level and use your Skylanders as powerful allies summoning them for a short time to assist you (like a magic item). The suit would need to be leveled up similar to the Skylanders themselves.

As the Evil Generals you'd take command of your villain armies and storm Skylands. Each General would add specific buffs to the Villains you are commanding at the time. Or you could take direct control of the General them selves and spread Chaos and destruction throughout Skylands. Each General would have there own specific power and buff set.

The gimmick could be powers and abilities for your suit and the villain generals. It could be discs or they could make a mock-up suit or villain statues that have upgrade nodes that would set into the figure with magnets like in Swap Force and each piece would have it's own RFID. Think Voltron with upgrade items...and new figures of course.

At this point maybe another thread would be justified lol. That is by no means I all I can come up with but it's things I've posted recently.

You have some good ideas there. I'd like to add if Activision wanted to go the creation route, instead of outright copying DI why not let us create our own Battle Arenas that could also be shared online. That would be a decent start at having a creation mode in the Skylanders games.

Of course, we need a new big bad instead of Kaos yet again.