Greycat

Maybe there were two then... That said, I'm kind of surprised they didn't last. The format of the .storyarc file isn't ... *overly* horrible, until you start adding custom groups in. (I want to say the character models get added to it then, which makes it big and nasty.) More an issue of "Keep up to date with available maps/etc." ... looked at a (simple, single mission) arc, and yeah. StartStoryArc Title "Test mission" Description "Here to test a group! " ContactType Contact ContactCategory P2108159343 Contact Ouroboros_Crystal_Console_A Morality Neutral StartMission Title "" SubTitle "" MinLevel 0 MaxLevel 0 MinLevelAuto 0 MaxLevelAuto 0 MapName maps/Missions/CargoShip/CargoShip_Layout_04.txt MapSet CargoShip MapLength Small EnemyGroupType Custom VillainGroup "Mystery Cult" Pacing Flat CompletionTime 0 ContactIntro Test! ContactSendOff "TEst! TEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEST!" ContactDeclineSendOff "" ContactStillBusy Test! ContactReturnSuccess "Tested! " ContactReturnFail "" MissionAccept Accept CompassActiveTask "Testy test. Click barrel when tired of testing." MissionEntryDialog "" MissionSuccessDialog "" MissionFailDialog "" MissionRequirements Test CustomVillainGroupIdx 1 Detail { Name Test DetailType Collection Entity OO_Council_Drum_Barrel_01 Quantity 1 ObjectInteractionTime 4 ObjectLocation Floor } EndMission All stuff you could just edit in Notepad if you know what to put in (which, of course, is part of the challenge.) The two critter types I have in this mission, though, take up *far* more space than this (granted, it's an 18k file.) This (other than the custom groups) should be easy..ish... to create an offline editor for. (No, I'm not a programmer, last programming I did was in Basic and scripting in (Auto)Lisp in the 90s. Decided I hated semicolon hunts in some version of C and haven't gone back.)

I want to say there used to *be* an external MA writing tool - though it wasn't updated and had fallen behind/gotten broken because of MA updates even before sunset. Still, interesting template (and more organized than using Notepad 😄 ) - nice.

Sentinels are perfectly survivable. I don't try to "aggro manage" for a team because that's not their job. And they do damage enough that, frankly, I don't feel short changed there. If you like another AT's numbers better, play that AT. Have fun. There's zero reason to "what's the point" any other AT. Don't like it, don't play it. As far as the point, for me? They let me actually run certain character concepts that "Melee with epic/pool ranged attack" or "blaster with APP shield finally in the 40s" don't. And no, neither does "IO it out."

Oh, do movie nights. Especially if someone hasn't seen the movie IRL (or is really good at not "remembering" for their character.) They don't *sound* interesting, but reactions and "I'm totally doing that" and having movie bits bleed into character mannerisms after watching can be ssurprisingly fun. Or funny. (One of the "touchstones" for one pair of characters I run with a friend - platonic - is DBZA (from Team Four Star.) Just from this being a *thing.*) Also... Yeah, I'd say if you start feeling something for another player... step back and talk to them OOC. Remind yourself who the *player* is. Way back on live, I had a (female) main. First character I seriously RP'd with. Player: male. Had someone else I RP'd with constantly. Player: male. Character: It's Complicated. Co-led an SG. Mind you, I'd mentioned my wife a few times (and same-sex marriages weren't a thing anywhere at that point.) Found ourselves sitting on one of the southern Peregrine islands and he hits me with a comment about never thinking they'd be sitting watching a sunset in a video game - or want to so much. I don't think he was expecting the "Er... what? Wait..." He'd *forgotten* who was behind the character because of how I'd RP'd her. Went to one of the other officers - also an in game friend - and metioned it, and *his* reaction was "I was wondering when you two would get together finally." And he meant OOC. I had to remind *him* who was behind the screen too! Fortunately we were all good and laughed it off, but it was *extremely* awkward for me right then. The other side of things? Maybe keep an eye on how it effects other people *irl* around you. Had another friend - went to her wedding, actually - whose husband cheated on her. They got divorced, but (granted, I think this was mostly an excuse, not a cause - he was getting fairly horrible) among other things he basically said she "cheated" too, because... her characters had in-game relationships and "it was the same thing." Aside from the divorce itself, she left COH permanently (which she'd been enjoying, both as a game and a place to just talk to a group of friends) because that's what it got associated with for her. (He would probably have found some other excuse if it weren't for COH, in truth, but still.)

Honestly, the only (play/mechanical, don't get me into their storyline) issue I have with VEATs is the blasted forced respec at 24. It's *exceptionally* annoying to me and often has me looking for any other option that fits a character concept.

I'll sometimes try to help (or just comment) in Help, repeat stuff if someone looks like they just came on and are looking for something advertised in LFG. Broadcast is... rare, barring inside a base (like a link to music for an event) or having an RP reason to shout stuff. Local - most frequent, since RP. General Chat - gets ripped out and thrown in the fire. SG and custom channels for various groups get used fairly frequently, usually to say hi and see what else is going on.

This creation is not mine, of course. But I'm sure many of us from live remember Samuraiko. (No, she's not gone, so far as I know.) And while we've lost more since this was created, she made this... apparently 9 years ago. Ran across it while looking for things to add to a playlist. Given both our losses and the time of year, well -

The test server has a "freebies menu" so you can test things. Immediate level to 50, test full sets, etc. It's part of why people will often say if you want to see how a build performs... do it on the test server.

I just dream of my characters having fingers.

The times I hear about it, it's like "oh, they'll be emulating the game as it was on issue 2" or some such... and it never seemed to get more current. *shrugs*

It's someone trying to ... awkwardly equate origins here with magic sources in a game that's trying its damndest to self destruct after 30 years.

As it's worded, I'd have to answer: 1. No, it's a pet. 2. Is also a pet. 3. No, the proc isn't the power damaging, it's the set doing a chance for damage. 4. No, or at least it shouldn't be. As you mention, it does no damage - never mentions anything about to hit. Those are, of course, how I'm reading it. Though you can always check on the test server, it should show up in the combat logs. For an ill/kin, I'd think you'd mostly have it triggering on Spectral Wounds and the hold, plus whatever pool attacks you might have. Again, going by that wording.

Well, if a character doesn't meet the minimum level for one, they don't show up... other than that, sure.

That code has pretty much always been wonky. It doesn't tend to show moving mobs. It'll show jail doors, COT crystals and the like - which aren't helpful - but a patrol that's wandering the map? Nope. (Though it will sometimes mark... what I believe is a spawn point. Go there and there's nothing there, but it's marked.) I've had it not help frequently. So, yeah, fixing it would be nice.

I'd be fairly certain they'd stay full size. Easy enough to test on the test server. Edit: As expected, nope.

GG's ... thing.... was Heroes and Villains, which I'm pretty sure imploded fast. Ship of heroes is something else.

The fairly predictable answer that it's here. That we had people running it and digging into it between shutdown and the explosion of private servers, so it could be expanded on as much as we can without all the original documentation and tools, even if some decided to demonize those people. And thankful for the folks I've met and re-met since coming back. All the new stories to tell.

... you know, honestly this would fit in *really* well with our grey alignments.

A former SG co-leader of mine did something close. Expected to have a single AV in a room. Had a group of 10 show up in the spawn (I think they did something like made the enemy group the same as the group the AV was in.) I started ramping up the difficulty (though not to that point...) of the AE arcs I made when the secondary team that was facing those beat them all. Also, you want bad? A map of FF/Sonic, pfft. Try *time.* "Hi. Was that your recharge? I'm sorry, it's not just floored, it's about 2/3 of the way to the Earth's core by now..." ... the SG asked me to maaayyybe back them off a bit after that.

Development's not cheap. *shrug* And I don't think any of them *really* knew what they were getting into. (Didn't they pretty much have to start over from scratch some years into it?) Yeah, I threw money at them back when they started, too, and expected it to be later than *they* thought it would be (like "I'll be playing this or beta-ing it in 5 years") but... *shrug* And ... no, this far in I don't expect monthly updates. I'd expect those closer to release. Quarterly, maybe.

Not Dell/Alienware. Laptop wise, I've been fairly happy with my Lenovo Legion for the last... year and a half? Probably get another - though with a larger screen - when it's time to replace it. It'll give pretty reasonable game performance, and it doesn't look "gamery" so it fits in well with a business or school use, too. Tablet-PC wise, only one I really have any experience with is the Surface Pro foisted on me by work. I hate that thing. Specifically I hate its little "dock" ... thing... you plug into the side with a cable (which gets "am I about to burn myself" hot to the touch just sitting there plugged into the side, and has no strain relief on the cable,) which randomly fritzes out, makes a monitor decide to go pixelated, or forgets what it has attached to it. The Surface itself does weird things with my keyboard - and I've cycled through a few, wired or wireless - occasionally ignoring it or "sticking" randomly. I would never spend my own money on one. (The keyboard, btw, does this both attached to the "dock" and directly to the Surface Pro. Tried multiple KBs.)

Those are powers with a model replacement, not an AT. And powers that not everyone takes.

I don't know about a "significant" part of lore, but their lore is scattered through the game. Some of the Faultline (new and old) markers talk about them, for instance, since their Paragon HQ was there for a while before "mysterious power suited figures" attacked it. They also do talk about Crey (or at least Countess Crey) supporting them. So, yeah, headcanon for me has pretty much always had them being a source of "raw material" for the Revenant Hero project, among other things. Honestly, they *could* be interesting. it's just that the only thing done with them in game is "So you want to change your settings..." and some plaques.

Still going faster than Duke Nukem Forever.

If we did more outside Paragon / the Isles, I think we'd see more of Hero Corps - they *do* have a presence in the rest of the world with Rent-a-supers. They *could* have more of a presence, but they'd still be used somewhat sparingly - hired out as meta-bodyguards for various people, for instance. ("The Peruvian ambassador will be arriving with his hired Hero Corps bodyguards...") I will say lore tidbits seem to have some interesting hints of Crey having ideas for them. (And I'll plug my *ancient* - as in first published around AE's launch, so it doesn't really take advantage of newer toys - arc, Hero Corpse, while I mention this.)